ATG The Final Frontier

[Tomo]

Second try this morning was a bit better. I used a stiffer blade and did a pre-pass strop before going ATG as recommended. There wasn’t much there to shave on the first two passes.

I’m currently using my right hand for both sides as I try to determine if it’s better to shave with the same hand or the opposite hand. Both feel comfortable but I’m starting to lean towards the opposite hand i.e. left side of face with the right hand.

 

[Tomo]

Third try. Getting better.

I think that I’ve settled in a grip now. Left side with left hand. Right side with right hand. This backhand grip with the thumb under the tang is quite secure. With the rest of the shave it’s my arm that does most of the shaving. The ATG pass is currently a weird combination of arm, wrist and face nodding.

I bumped the Thüringen edge with ten balsa laps last night to created my patented hybrid edge. The fools pass was smooth sailing but I copped a couple of little red dots. Overall a very close and comfortable result.

 

[rbscebu]

....
I bumped the Thüringen edge with ten balsa laps last night to created my patented hybrid edge. The fools pass was smooth sailing but I copped a couple of little red dots. Overall a very close and comfortable result.

The first time that I did a Fool's Pass with my shavette+half Feather blade (not my first Fool's Pass), I got about three or four little red dots on my upper lip. That taught me to flatten the blade (both shavette and traditional SR) even more and stretch the skin even tighter. Now all goes well with my daily Fool's Passes. Just a very few of my edges can match the shavette with Feather and most of my other SR's are very close.

If an edge is not quite good enough, I just run it through a pasted balsa strop progression again and all is good.

 

[Tomo]

Fourth try

Gave the fools pass and soul patch a miss today. ATG in all other areas. Still feels a little awkward and shaky as the muscle memory develops. Results are super smooth though. I can’t believe that I left it so long. I’m feeling like it may take a month until my technique really settles in.

I’ve never had much luck with going ATG with DE but SR seems to work. I guess you are able to get the stiffer SR blade that much flatter which seems to make all the difference.

 

[Gamma]

Way I see it, a successful ATG is the result of a perfect storm; a proper edge, excellent technique, great lather, and knowing the face and beard characteristics.

A super/hyper sharp edge can help, but a smooth ATG can be achieved with 'less' sharpness. In and of itself, a superior edge does not guarantee bbs. On the other hand, a marginal edge might never deliver that much smoothness, so sharpness is always important.

Lather counts - a lot. On days when I muff the sudz my ATG is notably 'off' and requires more effort.

Shave technique is uber-critical. A solid ATG requires an impeccable XTG. After going across the grain, wet the face and run fingers over the skin in the direction the blade just shaved. Without good game, there will be excessive stubble felt when there should only be a bare-minimum. Going ATG without having a cleared XTG doesn't cut it for me. Pun intended.

Skin pulling is an art form and sometimes, skin needs stretching in multiple directions. I have a spot where there is a scar and to get a solid BBS there I have to do some wicked stretching gymnastics. Faceturbation reveals the trouble spots where the whisker's grain is whacked. Parts of my beard grows in crop circles, just gotta deal with it.

Blade angles, and/or the illusion thereof, while navigating facial structure - this is also key. I raise/lower the blade on the 'feel' of the cut. The feedback tells me whats works best where.

I always do 3 passes, finishing with ATG. I probably put more work into the XTG though. Or at least, I probably pay more attention to the XTG.

 

[RumpleBearskin]

I always do 3 passes, finishing with ATG.

Agreed. The shave isn't really done for me without ATG. But ... I don't go ATG above my jawline on the front of my chin or my upper lip or soul patch zone. XTG gets me BBS there if I use a little care.

 

[Tomo]

Have decided to leave the fools pass for later and focus on adding the cheeks and chin to the ATG routine. After the sixth attempt my grip is feeling more comfortable and secure. Not much finesse yet but it works. My chin is nearly completely BBS today and I’m very happy with that result. This is typically the first place to visibly grow back for me so getting closer in this area is a real win.

 

[Bevel]

To reiterate what others have said:
A sharp blade is essential and you need half the angle you'd use in the rest of the shave, almost spine touching.
A solid WTG and XTG should leave only the minimum amount to remove making the ATG as easy as possible.
For the ATG pass I put an extra 3-4 drops of water from my fingertips into my bowl to dilute the lather a tiny bit more. Doesn't sound like much but there's little lather left at this stage so 3-4 drops will make the remaining lather extra slick.

I also cheat a bit by making my XTG pass a hybrid XTG/ATG, usually jaw, under ear, to nose. Same hybrid on the neck. It's basically a shoulder to nose pass. The actual ATG is then routine with a very slight cheek inflate when required.

For the fools pass I do the Hitler bit, like others mentioned, with two hands and nod my way through it.
For the non-Hitler bit on the sides it's more difficult so I make a big "0" with my mouth and with my right hand do the windwiper stroke from the oral commissures (edge of the mouth) to the nose on left side of the face and vise-versa. All movement from this maneuver comes exclusively from the wrist. I will say one thing here, with this part I will take the bevel into consideration. If the bevel is minuscule, which is my preference and most of my razors, I'll plow ahead BUT if the bevel is big, like on a W&B wedge I have I'll be a lot more careful as the wide bevel can stick to your skin and then skip when you engage upward pressure against the grain.

Funnily enough and contrary to most I don't do that much skin stretching other than to bypass the jaw line area.

I'll often do a lightning 4th pass WTG to finish up as I've got a grain map at my adams apple that radiates outwards and it's difficult to get that one area with a full length blade as I have to approach it from the side and the tang hits my chin. I need a toward the center but downwards stroke that sounds a lot easier than it is. After that it 100% BBS all over.

By the way, what is the "soul patch area"?

 

[Tomo]

To reiterate what others have said:
A sharp blade is essential and you need half the angle you'd use in the rest of the shave, almost spine touching.
A solid WTG and XTG should leave only the minimum amount to remove making the ATG as easy as possible.
For the ATG pass I put an extra 3-4 drops of water from my fingertips into my bowl to dilute the lather a tiny bit more. Doesn't sound like much but there's little lather left at this stage so 3-4 drops will make the remaining lather extra slick.

I also cheat a bit by making my XTG pass a hybrid XTG/ATG, usually jaw, under ear, to nose. Same hybrid on the neck. It's basically a shoulder to nose pass. The actual ATG is then routine with a very slight cheek inflate when required.

For the fools pass I do the Hitler bit, like others mentioned, with two hands and nod my way through it.
For the non-Hitler bit on the sides it's more difficult so I make a big "0" with my mouth and with my right hand do the windwiper stroke from the oral commissures (edge of the mouth) to the nose on left side of the face and vise-versa. All movement from this maneuver comes exclusively from the wrist. I will say one thing here, with this part I will take the bevel into consideration. If the bevel is minuscule, which is my preference and most of my razors, I'll plow ahead BUT if the bevel is big, like on a W&B wedge I have I'll be a lot more careful as the wide bevel can stick to your skin and then skip when you engage upward pressure against the grain.

Funnily enough and contrary to most I don't do that much skin stretching other than to bypass the jaw line area.

I'll often do a lightning 4th pass WTG to finish up as I've got a grain map at my adams apple that radiates outwards and it's difficult to get that one area with a full length blade as I have to approach it from the side and the tang hits my chin. I need a toward the center but downwards stroke that sounds a lot easier than it is. After that it 100% BBS all over.

By the way, what is the "soul patch area"?

Excellent advise here. Much appreciated.

The non-Hitler bit of the upper lip has been the biggest challenge and I will try that trick. I will also try the hybrid XTG/ATG. Makes sense.

I’ve already been adjusting the lather for the ATG pass to go a bit wetter. Solid advise. I definitely know what you mean about with the sticky bevel. If anything I was going too shallow to start with and was getting some sticking of blade to face. The blade was pretty flat and smearing lather around rather than removing it. A slight angle is required to get a clean sweep.

The “soul patch” area goes my many names. This refers to the area just under the lower lip between the lip and chin. It is also known as a flavour saver.

 

[Tomo]

Today was Saturday and I had lots of time so I went the whole hog and chased the dragon. Five passes WTG, XTG ear to nose, XTG / ATG chin to ear, 2x ATG. If I tried that with a DE, I would be paying the price. It seems like you can do as many passes as you like with a SR as long as your technique is good.

I’d never make this into my daily routine but the result was nearly perfect. Only the pesky sides of the moustache continue to allude me. I almost passed my three year olds BBS inspection. She did a double take but eventually rattled me.

 

[Bevel]

That's always a problem area as it's, along with the chin, not flat and the skin tends to be looser there because it's used so much in talking/eating evolution etc. It just takes practice but you'll get there.
The big "0" you can make will both make a flat and taught patch to navigate but you can further break this area down into smaller quadrants with your tongue it you want. I used to get the small dots of blood on the fools pass that others have mentioned as the regular method tends to bunch the skin up there but don't anymore as I've eliminated what was causing it.

Next time you try, try different areas of the blade. The heal will give you more control but you might find a "Goldilocks" sector of the blade. For me it doesn't seem to matter that much with a full hollow but with a wedgeier (is that a word?) blade I find about 1/3 in from the heal is best.

 

[rbscebu]

Today was Saturday and I had lots of time so I went the whole hog and chased the dragon. Five passes WTG, XTG ear to nose, XTG / ATG chin to ear, 2x ATG. If I tried that with a DE, I would be paying the price. It seems like you can do as many passes as you like with a SR as long as your technique is good.

I’d never make this into my daily routine but the result was nearly perfect. Only the pesky sides of the moustache continue to allude me. I almost passed my three year olds BBS inspection. She did a double take but eventually rattled me.

One of the things I love about SR shaving is that there is no limit (irritation wise) as to the number of passes that you can do. Of course you need to have your technique and edge all in order.

The most number of passes that I have ever done was four plus a little cleanup where required. With that, I dare say that even I could have then passed your daughter's inspection.

 

[Tomo]

8th try.

Made some more progress on the side of the moustache today. Attacked it from the side and up which got it very smooth. I’m getting the hang of the right side now. The left is still a bit shaky but I expect it to fall into line pretty soon.

Didn’t pass the drill sargent’s inspection. She knows where to look now.

 

[rbscebu]

....
Didn’t pass the drill sargent’s inspection. She knows where to look now.

When that happens to me, I change girls .

Glad to read that you are still persisting. Trust me, it's worth the effort.

 

[Tomo]

When that happens to me, I change girls .

Glad to read that you are still persisting. Trust me, it's worth the effort.

Yup. Definitely converted to an ATG final pass. It’s great how the smooth feeling lasts all day. No five o’clock shadow. By 9pm you can start to see the areas that weren’t quite as BBS as the rest. I might be imagining this but it also seems like the hair grows in more comfortably after being clipped on all sides.

 

[Sukeroku]

By the way, what is the "soul patch area"?

Some spilled libations on my laptop led to a nervous 96 hours
before I could safely reply. If "a picture is worth a thousand
word" Mr. Zappa's may be the opus of the soul patch (that
being the hirsute area between the lower lip and the chin).
The crux of the biscuit...but I digress. Back to the ATG pass.

 

[Tomo]

ATG Shave 9

First nick in a long time today. A small papercut type nick going ATG on the side of moustache. Didn’t bleed much but it was a warning. Going ATG can be dangerous as there is has a bit of resistance. One skip and you could be in strife. The new razor today didn’t cut quite a smooth as yesterday’s. The end result was very smooth though. Will do a touch up tonight and see how it goes tomorrow.

 

[rbscebu]

ATG Shave 9

First nick in a long time today. A small papercut type nick going ATG on the side of moustache. Didn’t bleed much but it was a warning. Going ATG can be dangerous as there is has a bit of resistance. One skip and you could be in strife. The new razor today didn’t cut quite a smooth as yesterday’s. The end result was very smooth though. Will do a touch up tonight and see how it goes tomorrow.

I could almost bet that you did not have your alum out ready to deal with your nick.

I went for months without a nick, so put my alum away. Very next shave - nick. I learnt my lesson. Always keep the alum handy to prevent nicking yourself.

 

[Tomo]

I could almost bet that you did not have your alum out ready to deal with your nick.

I went for months without a nick, so put my alum away. Very next shave - nick. I learnt my lesson. Always keep the alum handy to prevent nicking yourself.

Luckily a cold water rinse did the trick.

 

[Bevel]

8th try.

Made some more progress on the side of the moustache today. Attacked it from the side and up which got it very smooth.

Joseph from Edge Dynamics gives a good demonstration on how to approach the side and is a similar technique to mine.
Go to timestamp 13:03 and you'll see the "0" maneuver in all its glory. When you think about it it's really a XTG/ATG hybrid.
He doesn't quite do the windwiper but try this next time and report back.