I see it a lot in this forum, and occasionally over in General Shaving. It can be intuitive, but for some, it's one more mystery they have to solve during this learning curve. So, to better help my fellow newbs, I present:
Now, the explanation.
WTG - WITH the Grain - shaving in the same direction your beard grows in that area. This may be north to south, south to north, or some angle in between, but it's direction relative to the beard growth remains the same, parallel to growth. 0º deviation.
ATG - AGAINST the Grain - shaving in the complete opposite direction of beard growth in that area. As above, this may be any direction in space, but it's always the reverse of the WTG stroke. 180º deviation.
XTG - ACROSS the grain, or Cross-grain - shaving perpendicular to the direction of beard growth. This can be left to right, nose to ear, jaw to eyeball, it's up to you, but it's a shearing stroke coming from the side of beard growth. ~90º & 270º deviation.
Hybrid - Somewhat in between the parallel and perpendicular strokes, where the direction of the stroke is skewed from one of the cardinal points, ie NW -> SE. It can be partial with or partial against, depending on your preference. I find partial against gives me a better cut while not tearing up my neck. As with XTG, this stroke has some flexibility to it, in that there are 4 directions one can take. The picture above shows 2, but you can mirror that line and go from top left to bottom right to get the other 2. Deviation for this is on the 45's, 45º (NE), 135º (SE), 225º (SW), and 315º (NW).
Keep in mind, this only deals with direction, not length, of the strokes. If you over-run a change in the grain, you might wind up with some pain or blood. For example, on my neck, under the jawline grain is left side to center on that side, N-S right under the chin, and center to right on the right side. That swath stops where the true neck starts, a line about even with the point of my adams apple. Below that line, the grain is S-N. You got it, 4 distinct grain directions under there.
Now, the explanation.
WTG - WITH the Grain - shaving in the same direction your beard grows in that area. This may be north to south, south to north, or some angle in between, but it's direction relative to the beard growth remains the same, parallel to growth. 0º deviation.
ATG - AGAINST the Grain - shaving in the complete opposite direction of beard growth in that area. As above, this may be any direction in space, but it's always the reverse of the WTG stroke. 180º deviation.
XTG - ACROSS the grain, or Cross-grain - shaving perpendicular to the direction of beard growth. This can be left to right, nose to ear, jaw to eyeball, it's up to you, but it's a shearing stroke coming from the side of beard growth. ~90º & 270º deviation.
Hybrid - Somewhat in between the parallel and perpendicular strokes, where the direction of the stroke is skewed from one of the cardinal points, ie NW -> SE. It can be partial with or partial against, depending on your preference. I find partial against gives me a better cut while not tearing up my neck. As with XTG, this stroke has some flexibility to it, in that there are 4 directions one can take. The picture above shows 2, but you can mirror that line and go from top left to bottom right to get the other 2. Deviation for this is on the 45's, 45º (NE), 135º (SE), 225º (SW), and 315º (NW).
Keep in mind, this only deals with direction, not length, of the strokes. If you over-run a change in the grain, you might wind up with some pain or blood. For example, on my neck, under the jawline grain is left side to center on that side, N-S right under the chin, and center to right on the right side. That swath stops where the true neck starts, a line about even with the point of my adams apple. Below that line, the grain is S-N. You got it, 4 distinct grain directions under there.
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The other thing to stress is that the grain direction may change abruptly going from one part of your face to another. You may go from WTG to ATG without even lifting the razor.
