No, I'm not going to do this after every shave.... I finally stopped asking questions after my 50th or so DE shave:happy102 :happy102 J/K Does the first WTG pass with a straight generally remove less stubble than the same WTG pass with a DE? Or will it eventually be the same? The reason I ask is that I did 2 WTG passes today, and while it did seem to reduce my beard even after 2 passes I did not have a passable shave. So I finished with one WTG pass with the DE. I guess what I'm looking for is a benchmark to judge my progress against. I know for sure that my technique hasn't improved any yet, if anything it got a little worse maybe. Now I'm experiencing some burn. I probably should have forgone the DE pass, there's really no need to have been totally clean shaven today. Thanks again everyone! I definitely felt more comfortable with the razor today, not quite so intimidated. But still cautious though. :happy088
It depends on the angle of the blade and how sharp it is. Steeper angles and sharper blades will reduce it more on the WTG pass, but are also riskier to your skin. Shallower angles will leave stubble but it seems like it still thins the shafts of the whiskers making the subsequent passes easier. The real workhorse passes for me are primarily the XTG and secondarily the ATG passes. Because you can get the blade angle so low you can chop the whiskers off at the base without risk of razor burn. The XTG pass in particular is so effective that it gets me BBS nearly everywhere, so I only bother going ATG in my particularly tough spots.
It's all a matter of how sharp the straight razor is. A sharp straight razor should remove the same stubble as a DE. The second and third passes should be made in different directions other than the first one (WTG). This way, the hair is cut from a different angle, leaving it further reduced. Two consecutive WTG passes won't result in a proper shave. The second pass should be XTG.
I can get as close with one WTG pass as I used to with a DE, but there are more variables - as has been said. That's also part of the fun. It takes some practice though. Jordan
Yes. You should be removing basically the majority of your stubble with the first pass. Theoretically, anyway. But there is a learning curve and it takes time and practice, and you may not even notice some of the nuances of what you're doing differently, only that you seem to be getting better shaves. Stropping is a skill thats going to affect your shave as well. Don't underestimate the power of your linen strop if you have one. My edges get a lot keener if I do about 20 or 25 passes on linen before I strop on my leather, particularly on my stainless blade it seems like. It does work wonders on my carbon blades too though. Keep working at it. And don't feel bad if you need to touch up with your DEs for a while. Most of all, enjoy your shaves!
OK, thanks everybody. I think I'll look at getting a linen strop then. Right now I'm only using my Tony Miller practice strop. Haha, now I know why you need a practice strop...:ashamed001 Today's shave was much more enjoyable than my first shave, and I can foresee it becoming quite enjoyable as my skill progresses. Thanks again for the encouraging words!
Everything said to point is great advice.. though as most new straight users don't get this warning, Never go ATG on your upper lip with the blade pointing towards your nose. This is called the fools pass one slip, skip or stroke and you will no doubt cut the bottom of your nose. In time as you become more comfortable with the blade there are techniques to help minimize the danger of the fools pass, but not recommended till you are more comfortable with blade angles etc and even then most will say perform at your own risk. Just a word of caution. Coder.
Ahh, yes, the Fool's Pass. I've been reading about it on SRP....saw a video where Xman (I think that's his name) did it... scary stuff. Thanks for the reminder...
