Question about the number of passes you make

If someone says they did a 3 pass shave, what does that mean?

Now it may seem obvious, However, when I shave with my Feather AC DX, I typically use multiple short strokes, so each area of skin gets passed over by the blade most likely much more than just three times. That being said, I do this with the grain, across the grain and against the grain, so I guess I consider that "3 passes"? Is that how it is typically defined?

When you shave, does the blade go across your whole face in a swooping stroke? Or are you doing lots of small short strokes slowly working the blade across your face?

I think there is a name for a technique typically used with DEs, where you very lightly take the blade and quickly kind of make a bunch of very small strokes in one area. I think it was called "buffing" or something like that. I also do a lot of that with my straight especially under the nose and I get very good results with it. However, how would you then quantify the number of passes?

 

3 passes would be with, across and against the grain. i do long strokes on my cheeks because of less grains, and meny small strokes on my chin because it`s thicker and therefore not cut as easely.

 

Whoa, back up a second.

Three passes just means that someone has shaved 3 times. While with, across and against are common pass strategies for shaving, they aren't exclusively the definition of a three pass shave. You can do three with the grain. You can do 2 against and one clean up. The world's your oyster.

With a standard DE I do one with the grain, one against, and a clean up pass. With a slim I do one with the grain and then a clean up. What happens during each 'pass' may vary depending on the condition of my face. I may shave the same spot 4 times, that's still in one pass.

 

You are thinking of "Blade Buffing"

We do that rarely with a SR, short strokes with slight overlap are common on the tight areas..

One of the hardest thing to learn with a SR is what we call a Scything stroke, there is a similar one done with a DE but with a SR it takes on a whole new aspect of FEAR

Once you learn that stroke, the amount of passes decreases and the degree of comfort goes up

To be honest I shave with a SR for Comfort in shaving, not "Closeness" after 35 years I can get both pretty well hehehe

 

You are absolutly right

 

Okay, so I think that clarifies it. One pass is not necessarily the blade passing only once over each patch of skin, it is merely the overall movement of the blade across that area "Once".

Now I'm curious about this scything stroke.

And how come no one else uses "Blade Buffing" with a straight? I get amazing closeness and comfort with this technique.

 

I do long, with the grain strokes on my cheeks, which cuts the stubble clean. I go against the grain under the edge of my jawline & chin. My neck is a different story; I have to buff every which way to get smooth , due to the way my whiskers grow. Which is, every which way.

 

Because you shouldn't need too

You can, but once you get used to using the unlimited angles, and freedom of using a SR things change a bit..

But really it is about your personal objective, are you a BBS guy a CCS guy or a DFS guy what do you personally consider the perfect shave ???

 

Baby butt smooth with the least amount of irritation possible, I use the buffing technique extensively under my nose and on my chin to achieve this quite well with my Feather AC. Why exactly shouldn't I need to? You are saying I can achieve the same results quicker without buffing perhaps?

Also, what is CCS and DFS?

 

I just shave.
I lather up three times, I take the razor to my face and scrape the lather off three times.

CCS - Close, Comfortable Shave
DFS - Darn Fine Shave

How those are defined is completely up to you.

 

No,, I am saying I can

It will take some amount of months for a new SR shaver to get close to a good DE shave,, the real difference between a Shavette and a Traditional SR is the comfort of the edge..


One of the biggest reasons for people trying and leaving SR's is "Time" they take time and for many they do not have the time to invest..

 

I see, so given enough time and practice I can. Guess that's what I like about straights, always things to tweak and get better at.

I have been Straight shaving with my shavette for 8 months now and I am starting to get some extremely good shaves. They take me about 30 to 45 min though, down from about an hour. I will be trying a traditional straight next. I have never been able to get good shaves with a DE.

 

It is also the downside of SR's

The fact that they are the most variable way to shave makes them great for adjusting to you,,, but all that variability also tends to be difficult to master

A double edged sword to be sure (pun intended)

 

Hmm, I suppose this is do-able. Use plenty of lather, though.

 

It depends. Usually 2-3 passes depending on how well the 2 passes go.

 

My standard shave is with a straight razor and is 2 1/2 passes. South to north, mustache and goatee area north to south and then ears to chin on my face and under my jaw and then north to south scything on my neck, rinse and aftershave. 20 minutes is pretty typical. Now comes the qualifier. I have been at this for a while and shave with a straight 95% of the time. We all have different whiskers and whisker growth patterns and skin types and sensitivity levels. I like a straight because it has allowed me to have total comfort if I shave every day or once a week. Zero irritation was the goal and I have achieved that and the bonus is the shaves are so vey close. It is not perfect with twenty minute shave. if it is super important I can get the few challenge areas for the full BBS but it take a little extra time and to be honest, nobody can tell the difference between a close comfortable shave and a baby butt smooth shave unless they touch my face, and there is only one person that touches my face.

 

Two passes and a clean up

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If I want a BBS I do four passes, WTG, XTG, XTG(opposite direction) and ATG. Do to the my beard growth pattern I need to go in almost every direction.

Four passes seems like a lot but I can do it without irritation. The key for me is getting enough beard reduction before the ATG pass. I can get BBS in 3 passes but it means shaving with a more aggressive angle which leads to irritation.

What I love a SR is that you can customise the shave in every way. While I also use shavettes the feel is different and they are less forgiving than a SR. If you are already proficient with shavette a traditional straight will be easy.

There is an old folk saying that it takes 100 shaves to be able to get consistently good shaves from a straight. It took me several months to get to BBS, no irritation and 4 passes. I started with just 1/2 a pass and finishing with a DE then slowly added more passes over time.

 

My normal workday shave is a BBS above the jawline on my face and a DFS below the jawline on my neck. I can do this in 2 to 2.5 passes. The extra half pass is for duller blades, the last shave out of my "good" shavette blades and the last day on my real straight before a touch up. I shave from eyes down to chest then reverse it for the second pass. If I do a 3rd half pass its more of an ears to center pass on my neck only. I use scything strokes on my first 2 passes but the curve of my neck makes it too scary for me to try it with my extra half pass when I do it.