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Who never goes against the grain?

I never do / did an against the grain pass.

In the beginning a few decades ago I suffered from acne, so tried do scratch the skin as few as possible.

Then I feel no need to do that. One pass shave is quite acceptable to me. Often I do a second pass with the grain again. Those days where I feel bold I do a second or a third pass across the grain in the face only, never in the neck.
 
I'm with you; just WTG/XTG and maybe some minor touch-ups. I've tried experimenting with ATG passes - my cheeks can somewhat tolerate it but my neck can't - overall it's not worth it to me.
 
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For me it depends on the razor.

DE89, Rockwell 6C on 2 or 3, merkur progress on 1. All of those I can go ATG and my skin is literally smooth as silk after the shave.

Sometimes the Fatip gentile, sometimes…

Fatip FOCS, well that one is still not smooth for me even WTG. Never dared to try ATG.

Game changer 84 and 68, never never ever.

I don’t know why, even the milder 68 seems like torture. Both plates tug, hurt, feels like I’m going to peel off a chunk and of meat if I try to continue.

And the worst part is, the results are horrible even if I pushed through it.

I find both GCs to be well built and nice shavers, but I don’t know why the don’t deliver the smoothest results on my face. Just seems they don’t cut as clean as others. 🤷‍♂️

Being able to go ATG is quickly becoming a deal breaker when buying a new razor.
 
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ylekot

On the lookout for a purse
I do 3 passes (because lathering is fun that's why! Thanks @JCinPA! ) all North to South regardless of whisker grain. I get a good shave (best I've ever had to be honest) and it's complete autopilot listening to music and just relaxing. No irritation no aftershave burn.
 
There is ATG and ATG… with mild razor no problem, with R41 like today, everything is ok until one small mistake one bad angle. And boom, cut or irritation is here.

A neck can be problem but on my face ATG is what makes difference between DFS and BBS.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I do ATG. Have to to feel like I shaved on my neck and cheeks. My litmus test for a razors ability to do ATG is the upper lip.

Only some razors can ATG on my upper lip. It does have something to do with clamping of the blade I'd say but not completely. I think the gap and exposure matters as well (note my comment on the Carbon CX. For instance the Henson which clamps very tightly is not a great ATG razor for the upper lip

R41 - Nope (but cross grain leaves me more than close enough)
Henson - Barely, not great have to watch it.
Feather AS-D2 - Easily
Rockwell 6 S - Easily with plate 2 and 3 and good with plate 4
One Blade Genesis - Yes, but not as easy as some
Fatip - Yes but prone to draw blood unless intensely careful
Mamba - Yes
Gamechanger = Yes
Carbon CX - Yes, but only with their largest gap plate (which also has the least exposure)

I think many can do ATG if they really want to and find the proper hardware, but I'm sure some don't need or want to and some can't. A lot of it will depend on the angle of your whiskers, tightness of skin and other factors. If someone has the type of whisker that basically stands straight out, that person is essentially grainless and direction probably doesn't matter much for them.

I think barbers only doing WTG was a case of comfort above all else. If you irritate someone from shaving them, they aren't going to be a customer long. So I totally understand why they would do that.

At this point, I know my face better than any barber.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Another name for ATG pass is the money pass named by Tony Esposito who is one of the best straight razor shavers I have ever seen at work when I was tinkering with my AC shavette learning. He is a interesting colorful full of life person to watch how it is done regularly, he even uses a DE razor at times.:biggrin1:
My typical daily Shave is a 2pass WTG + ATG with pickups considered a 1/2 pass or the 3rd pass.
I'm lucky and learned as I bumped along the shaving learning curve how to shave to consistently receive those close shaves with minimal issues & I feel test every day how I did for that shaving session, getting in the DFS,BBS range is my sweet spot and will take that any time over a true BBS which comes along easier with a matured technique in time.
When you get a true BBS the next day it is harder to duplicate that shave because there is not much to shave off as a daily shaver and the skin does not care for it but they do occur for myself as a daily shaver with good pre-shave preparation also helps.
 
I do it on parts of face that can handle it. On the neck I wouldnt even dram about going ATG, my skin just can't handle it and I break out with ingrowns, hairs a growing flat on the skin there
 
I usually shave 2-3x WTG. On the 2nd and 3rd pass I use the Gillette Slide technique. I change the direction of the slide twice.
I get a DFS according to my standards.
 
But if you don't/can't shave ATG, isn't your face all stubbly still? I know mine is.
Same. That shiny skin glass look only happens when going ATG.

Not that WTG/XTG leaves me unshaven, but you can definitely tell the difference. And not just by touching the face.
 
Let’s just acknowledge that it’s ok not to go AGT, you are not less than a man because of it. I can go AGT with good results only with Rockwell 6S plates 1 and 2, sometimes with Fatip testina gentile, and that’s because of my irregular neck hair pattern. I need 2-3 recovery days just because it’s convenient for me to keep the N-S movement, but I have 90% disastrous results by doing so.


Do whatever works for you and enjoy shaving. You are not alone in your NO AGT shaving journey.
 
I have actually found for myself, one with quite sensitive skin, that going ATG as my final pass has not irritated my skin very much and I've been continuing to do it each shave. Could be razor/blade dependent, but I definitely appreciate that smoothness it leaves. Albeit I will still find I've missed a few tricky areas but I try to adjust my technique every time.
 
I never do. I don't care if I have a bbs feel to my skin, my wife of 47 years doesn't care and no one I know cares.

The few times I have tried ATG, have cause irritation, so...

Single pass for me with minor touch ups. "Good enough" is good enough.
 
Any attempts I've made at ATG were horrendous. I do a single pass of WTG/XTG and have learned which way the hair on my face grows to maximize that. There are a couple of small spots I go ATG, but that is based more on how I can maneuver my razor into those spots than an attempt at a closer shave. However, I need to be very careful in those spots, or I get irritation and ingrown hair if I am too aggressive. I am a single lather, single pass shaver, and I usually do not shave daily. While I might not have the most BBS shave, it is sufficient to look professional. Many days I sport a day or two of growth, which suits my presentation. My shaves are considerably closer when I am shaving off two-day-old growth than when I shave daily. So, I work a variety of looks, which I seem to pull off. At least, that is what I tell myself ;)
 
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