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A one pass, south to north pass shave.

Personally, I have not been able to get a satisfactory shave with less than three passes. I’m certainly no expert and have only owned two DE razors, but with each, trying two passes (WTG & ATG) created drag/snags and ultimately, some weepers or nicks. The traditional three-pass is the way I go. Now that I’ve learned a bit more and acquired a bit of technique, it’s going well.

Now I’m on a quest to determine my sweet spot with blade gap. I have one base plate at .64 mm and another at 1.02mm and I suspect my magic number is possibly in between. Thus, I may research an adjustable razor. Learning about those now.
 
Personally, I have not been able to get a satisfactory shave with less than three passes. I’m certainly no expert and have only owned two DE razors, but with each, trying two passes (WTG & ATG) created drag/snags and ultimately, some weepers or nicks. The traditional three-pass is the way I go. Now that I’ve learned a bit more and acquired a bit of technique, it’s going well.

Now I’m on a quest to determine my sweet spot with blade gap. I have one base plate at .64 mm and another at 1.02mm and I suspect my magic number is possibly in between. Thus, I may research an adjustable razor. Learning about those now.
My experiment has told me I can definitely eliminate the XTG pass. The jury is still out if I can go to one pass. Still a work in progress. If I am able to get to one pass the next dilemma is I suddenly have much more shave soap than I thought I had.

Razor geometry is much more complex than just the blade gap measurements. Manufacturers have glommed onto this measurement to give customers some idea of aggressiveness. If all parameters are the same and you are only changing the gap than this would be more valid. Here is a illustration of all the the parameters of a razor that can affect the shave.

Razor Parameters.png
 
I’ve tried a single ATG pass a few times. With the right razor, if I had a close shave the day before, it can be ok, but the likelihood of injury is drastically increased. Not really worth it IMO unless you’re feelin’ spicy. If all I have time for is one pass, I’d probably skip or do a quick WTG.
 
My experiment has told me I can definitely eliminate the XTG pass. The jury is still out if I can go to one pass. Still a work in progress. If I am able to get to one pass the next dilemma is I suddenly have much more shave soap than I thought I had.

Razor geometry is much more complex than just the blade gap measurements. Manufacturers have glommed onto this measurement to give customers some idea of aggressiveness. If all parameters are the same and you are only changing the gap than this would be more valid. Here is a illustration of all the the parameters of a razor that can affect the shave.

View attachment 1475046
OK, this is great- I love to study this kind of thing and it's the scientist in me that wants to optimize the ratio of blade gap vs. blade exposure. So currently, I have only one razor with two different plates. The Yates 921 H (1.02 gap/0.05 exposure) and the M plate (0.64 exposure/0 neutral exposure). The latter is obviously quite mild and requires more touch ups and more time for BBS results. The former can create a bit of irritation, but requires fewer touch ups in general.

I'm going to do some online research and see if the Rex Ambassador, for example, adjusts both gap & exposure with each setting. Also, I'm enamored by Wolfman, but will need to find the gap vs exposure data for their WR2 heads. I'm trying to determine the right numbers (ballpark obviously) before I purchase to increase the likelihood of making an informed purchase.
 
OK, this is great- I love to study this kind of thing and it's the scientist in me that wants to optimize the ratio of blade gap vs. blade exposure. So currently, I have only one razor with two different plates. The Yates 921 H (1.02 gap/0.05 exposure) and the M plate (0.64 exposure/0 neutral exposure). The latter is obviously quite mild and requires more touch ups and more time for BBS results. The former can create a bit of irritation, but requires fewer touch ups in general.

I'm going to do some online research and see if the Rex Ambassador, for example, adjusts both gap & exposure with each setting. Also, I'm enamored by Wolfman, but will need to find the gap vs exposure data for their WR2 heads. I'm trying to determine the right numbers (ballpark obviously) before I purchase to increase the likelihood of making an informed purchase.
I think most adjustable razors adjust the blade gap by moving the base plate up and down. This might be why blade gap has been the go to measurment for agressivness. The Muramasa adjustable razor by Tatara razors adjusts in another way. "The Tatara Muramasa adjustable razor adjusts in an unusual way, sliding the base skin guard in-and-out instead of the up-and-down movement of more conventional adjustable razors." This is a pricey razor.

 
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Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
Slock is correct! I own several adjustables, Rex Ambassador, Merkur Futur, & a 1959 Gillette 195 Adjustable Fatboy. All of them adjust the blade gap up or down, they do not alter the exposure. If there is a a adjustable razor out there that does both of those, then it must be some new piece of high level tech that we haven't heard about yet. But ya, a razor that allowed you to adjust both gap and exposure, that would be pretty neat wouldn't it?
 
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