How to shave against the grain (ATG) without getting nicks?

[User123456]

Greetings,

So I've been shaving for around close to a year, with a DE, and even though I've found the blades which suit me, my technique has become better and I've been getting good shaves with zero nicks when shaving with the grain and when shaving across the grain, I haven't managed to get nick-free shave when going against the grain.

I've tried some advanced techniques, such as J-hook, blade buffing, which I will be using them and trying to refine these techniques, but even after using them, I feel like they are not adequate and that a shave against the grain is needed.

I've tried going against the grain with "different techniques" such as, having the razor's cap on the skin and slightly changing the angle of the razor until I feel that the blade is cutting but without scraping, but then I run into the problem that sometimes the blade will get "stuck" (or grab?) and I either have to change the direction of the blade or push through, which with the first I don't get to shave the patch/specific stubble that I want to and with the latter I still get nicks.

Other times I'd ride the guard, which I've heard that by doing so I'm basically scraping my skin, I don't know. Still I get nicks by doing so.

So please, if someone can enlighten me and help me solve this issue, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advanced!

 

[NorthernSoul]

Going against the grain is easier with a very sharp blade, very slick lather, skin stretched tight, and little pressure. Learn to stretch the skin with your other hand.

Before going against the grain, it may help to follow the "progressive beard reduction" plan where you do one or two passes in other directions to reduce the length of the whiskers. This may help with the "catching" problem you mentioned.

Whether you use a steeper or shallower angle is going to depend on the razor and your preferences. I would suggest a more neutral angle that does allow the comb (or guard) to smooth the skin in advance of the blade. This can help avoid nicks.

Use short strokes. Go fairly slow. Don't shave without lather on the skin if you can help it.

 

[Dave himself]

I was also going to suggest skin stretching and welcome to B&B.

 

[brucered]

To me it seems like you are trying too many different methods, "advanced" techniques and haven't mastered the basic stroke yet.

My WTG stroke is identical to my XTG and ATG. I don't chance the angle, pressure or speed.

Work on your basic razor skills some more. It could also be weak lather making or poor quality product being used.

 

[JCinPA]

Agree with skin stretching, VERY light pressure and a super slick lather. Eschew the J-hook and Gillette Slide until this becomes comfortable. Be patient, it could take another half a year to get to where you want to bre.

 

[Lockback]

Going against the grain is easier with a very sharp blade, very slick lather, skin stretched tight, and little pressure. Learn to stretch the skin with your other hand.

Before going against the grain, it may help to follow the "progressive beard reduction" plan where you do one or two passes in other directions to reduce the length of the whiskers. This may help with the "catching" problem you mentioned.

Whether you use a steeper or shallower angle is going to depend on the razor and your preferences. I would suggest a more neutral angle that does allow the comb (or guard) to smooth the skin in advance of the blade. This can help avoid nicks.

Use short strokes. Go fairly slow. Don't shave without lather on the skin if you can help it.

This.

 

[Frito Ray]

Welcome to the B&B.

I’m going to go against the popular doctrine to use the sharpest blade possible.

I have a patch of beard that grows almost parallel to the skin and the only way I can go against the grain is to use a very mild blade. So far, the three I’ve found that work for me are Derby Extras, Tiger Platinums, and Tatra Platinums…none of which are liked by the sharp blade crowd. Being mild, they tug a bit while shaving.

When I use sharp blade I don’t go against the grain and settle for a DFS (damn fine shave) and accept I won’t get a BBS (baby butt smooth) shave.

Have fun.

 

[User123456]

Going against the grain is easier with a very sharp blade, very slick lather, skin stretched tight, and little pressure. Learn to stretch the skin with your other hand.

Before going against the grain, it may help to follow the "progressive beard reduction" plan where you do one or two passes in other directions to reduce the length of the whiskers. This may help with the "catching" problem you mentioned.

Whether you use a steeper or shallower angle is going to depend on the razor and your preferences. I would suggest a more neutral angle that does allow the comb (or guard) to smooth the skin in advance of the blade. This can help avoid nicks.

Use short strokes. Go fairly slow. Don't shave without lather on the skin if you can help it.

Thank you for responding to my question!

Before going against the grain, it may help to follow the "progressive beard reduction" plan where you do one or two passes in other directions to reduce the length of the whiskers. This may help with the "catching" problem you mentioned.

Yes, I agree. I leave shaving against the grain part at the end after shaving with and across the grain. It's just for some reason the blade still catches the whiskers sometimes.

Whether you use a steeper or shallower angle is going to depend on the razor and your preferences. I would suggest a more neutral angle that does allow the comb (or guard) to smooth the skin in advance of the blade. This can help avoid nicks.

I will give it a try.

Use short strokes. Go fairly slow.

I'll try this also. Most of the times I do a bit of long strokes, I'll try using shorter strokes and go slower as you suggest.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[User123456]

I was also going to suggest skin stretching and welcome to B&B.

Thanks!

 

[User123456]

To me it seems like you are trying too many different methods, "advanced" techniques and haven't mastered the basic stroke yet.

My WTG stroke is identical to my XTG and ATG. I don't chance the angle, pressure or speed.

Work on your basic razor skills some more. It could also be weak lather making or poor quality product being used.

Not really, I don't. Most of the times I use basic strokes. It's just that sometimes I get a bit "desperate" to remove some stubborn whiskers.

It could also be weak lather making

That could be an actual factor. Sometimes my lather turns out a bit "weak". I will focus on that more.

Thanks for your answer!

 

[User123456]

Agree with skin stretching, VERY light pressure and a super slick lather. Eschew the J-hook and Gillette Slide until this becomes comfortable. Be patient, it could take another half a year to get to where you want to bre.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

 

[User123456]

Welcome to the B&B.

I’m going to go against the popular doctrine to use the sharpest blade possible.

I have a patch of beard that grows almost parallel to the skin and the only way I can go against the grain is to use a very mild blade. So far, the three I’ve found that work for me are Derby Extras, Tiger Platinums, and Tatra Platinums…none of which are liked by the sharp blade crowd. Being mild, they tug a bit while shaving.

When I use sharp blade I don’t go against the grain and settle for a DFS (damn fine shave) and accept I won’t get a BBS (baby butt smooth) shave.

Have fun.

Interesting. Thanks for your reply.

 

[NorthernSoul]

I will give it a try...

Thanks for the tips.

Sure thing. There's one other thing I wanted to suggest regarding the "catching" problem.

I've found it helps to use a razor that supports the blade very well, close to the edge. This keeps the blade from flapping about when going ATG that can help prevent nicks.

For example, Fatip Grande, Gillette New SC clamp the blade very close to the edge, keeping it rigid. Another approach is the single edge razors such as Schick injectors or GEM Micromatics. These use a thicker blade that is very rigid compared to thinner DE blades.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I'll try this also. Most of the times I do a bit of long strokes, I'll try using shorter strokes and go slower as you suggest.

That is likely part of the challenge. Use short strokes with a safety razor, especially ATG. I use about a 1 cm stroke against the grain. You've got this!

 

[musicman1951]

Going against the grain is easier with a very sharp blade, very slick lather, skin stretched tight, and little pressure. Learn to stretch the skin with your other hand.

Before going against the grain, it may help to follow the "progressive beard reduction" plan where you do one or two passes in other directions to reduce the length of the whiskers. This may help with the "catching" problem you mentioned.

Whether you use a steeper or shallower angle is going to depend on the razor and your preferences. I would suggest a more neutral angle that does allow the comb (or guard) to smooth the skin in advance of the blade. This can help avoid nicks.

Use short strokes. Go fairly slow. Don't shave without lather on the skin if you can help it.

All of this!

I do wonder if your equipment is the perfect marriage for your beard. I have the impression (read: guess) that either your blade is not sharp enough or your razor is too mild. I only get tugging with blades that aren't sharp enough for me, but it's very possible I'm barking up the wrong tree. Just a though.

 

[Jamolay]

Greetings,

So I've been shaving for around close to a year, with a DE, and even though I've found the blades which suit me, my technique has become better and I've been getting good shaves with zero nicks when shaving with the grain and when shaving across the grain, I haven't managed to get nick-free shave when going against the grain.

I've tried some advanced techniques, such as J-hook, blade buffing, which I will be using them and trying to refine these techniques, but even after using them, I feel like they are not adequate and that a shave against the grain is needed.

I've tried going against the grain with "different techniques" such as, having the razor's cap on the skin and slightly changing the angle of the razor until I feel that the blade is cutting but without scraping, but then I run into the problem that sometimes the blade will get "stuck" (or grab?) and I either have to change the direction of the blade or push through, which with the first I don't get to shave the patch/specific stubble that I want to and with the latter I still get nicks.

Other times I'd ride the guard, which I've heard that by doing so I'm basically scraping my skin, I don't know. Still I get nicks by doing so.

So please, if someone can enlighten me and help me solve this issue, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advanced!

I am a head shaver, so take that into account. I have struggled with a similar issue. Part of the problem for me is I have a lot of grain directions. The more passes made the worse it gets, the more frustrating gets and then the more careless.

What has helped me a lot is a good pre shave soap. I am using PAA cube 2.0. It was a game changer.

Even with this, I started reapplying lather before my ATG passes, on a bad day even reapplying the Cube.

Go slower than slow and no added pressure at all, find the exact angle where the blade does not scrape the skin, but any more would. Go slower.

Feel your stubble frequently to be familiar with the grain directions. I am still figuring it out after 4 years.

Find and remember the areas you cut or scrape. You may find they are often the same spots. Be extra super careful and slow in these spots.

Make sure you have the razor and blades that feel best to you. I find blades can be too sharp and I cut myself or get raw, but too dull and the tugging is bad and you need more passes so you get more raw, frustrated and erratic. I like smooth. A blade can never be too smooth for me. Don’t try to use them too many times, err on fewer shaves per blade. Right now I am like if the BIC Astor, but my mood changes…

My biggest game changer lately has been shifting to a pivoting head razor. I got the Proof Whiskey razor and love it. It can use 1/2 of any blade. Expensive, but I didn’t want to have to use priority blades or cartridges. This requires a slightly different technique to engage the pivot and a little pressure. I have also done well with double open comb razors. I have a slant and like it (Ikon) but much more prone to my failings. The slant can still tug, so didn’t solve that problem.

 

[BigJ]

First, congratulations on your progress!!

Second, ATG is NOT required. Many get fine shaves without going ATG.

Third, my approach ATG is the SAME as WTG or XTG:
Maintain proper razor angle, and
NO pressure.

Hope this helps!

 

[Goblin]

Excellent advice all round from everyone, as usual.

I want to mention one thing that has not yet been mentioned: pre-shave preparation.

Everything is easier if our whiskers are properly prepared beforehand, and that is especially true of "difficult" things like the ATG pass.

If you don't already do it, I highly recommend taking a hot shower before shaving and washing the beard area. Get those whisker really saturated and softened before you shave. It makes a big difference.

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to the forum !!

 

[NotBloomingAL]

Welcome to the forum.

Let me add ... when you're shaving with a DE razor you need to keep the shaving angle, or the cutting plane stable. So try to shave more with your arm than your wrist. I think shavers self inflict irritation by changing the cutting plane with their wrist movements. Shorter strokes can help maintaining the the angle easier.