I have seen several vids and diagrams on the direction of shaving strokes. Some things seem to contradict themselves. Most of them have you pull the razor down on the first pass and then against the grain on the second. ATG on my side burns would be going up(floor to ceiling). But, under the jowls I think my hair grows away from the vertical center of my neck. So ATG would be from left to right or right to left depending on the side I am shaving on. Either way it would be towards the center. Can I do that with a DE? Or are all of your strokes supposed to be up and down? I hope this makes some sense.
My stubble grows the same way, I use a DE and shave left to right and right to left on my neck fine... be sure there is plenty of lather each time you make a pass though.
It makes sense and yes you can. That is you can go side to side. In fact, I usually do a two pass shave. First pass north to south with a lightly Gillette slide on the cheeks. My second pass is from ear to center of face above the neck and south to north on the neck. Then a may buff a bit if needed. I never really go for a BBS, but I have found that my military issue GEM Junior 1912 gets me pretty much there with my normal two pass routine.
I've got about the same grain as you i think. I find it hard to shave ATG in these areas too but I'm quite fine with just going slightly sideways upwards. I guess it's possible to do but it require some technique.
Makes perfect sense. Most guys have all kinds of different growth patterns on their faces. You will be hard pressed to find someone with the same pattern on their cheek as their neck. On my neck alone I have 3 different growth patterns. Thus agains the grain is north to south on some, east and west on another and southeast to northwest on yet another. ATG doesn't mean north to south all over your face. It means agains the grain in THAT particular area. If you have been going from floor to ceiling and assuming this is ATG you may have found you have some redness and irriation. This irritation could mean you are going ATG grain on your first pass in some areas. I hope this makes sense.
+1 to what's been said. I'm not a straight shaver, but from the vids I've watched and discussions I've had straight shavers pretty much do one WTG pass (possibly a second for whisker reduction) and maybe a little ATG touch up. Straights are so much sharper than DE blades that all the various passes aren't necessary. That's been my impression anyway.
You know, lots of straight shavers say that, but I can't believe it. I think it has more to do with the lack of deformation and the size of the blade that lets you do fewer passes, not sharpness. Not with the amount of tug and pull you get with a straight. Even the good Doctor gets tug on his chin whiskers, which just doesn't happen with a DE. Not mine, anyway.
I find that I get the best shave with an wtg pass, then an ath pass followed by an xtg pass. I find it best not to think about top to bottom or north to south as not all of your beard will grow in the same direction. WTG in one spot might mean a downward stroke and in a different spot might mean an upward stroke. It all depends on how your beard grows. The only place where my shave contradicts me is on my neck where the hair grows in a diagonal pattern. I find it hard to get really smooth there, but I'm happy with it for now. I think you only stop learning how to do this better when you drop dead. I hope this helps
I share the same opinion as JimR on this one. Even though I am only starting out with both DE and straight shaving my initial perception is that it will be very difficult to hone a straight to the same sharpness as a DE blade. This same perception also shines through in many straight vs. shavette discussions as many users confess that extra care needs to be taken when using a shavette (basically a straight using disposable, often DE, blades) in order to avoid nicks and cuts, since it is so much sharper.
I shaved this morning because I got up early and I tried a second ATG pass (which means the direction is ear to chin on my neck and jowls) and was very pleased. A couple nicks, but quite possibly the best shave ever for me. Completely BBS in two passes. Now I will have to try for BBSS. Baby butt super smooth.
With a straight, I usually do a WTG pass, then an XTG pass. I will then do an ATG pass on my neck, if needed.
