SMF

Recently, I re-learned that a great 2-pass shave does me better than a 3-pass shave so long as I am not more than a day and a half between shaves. Funny --- how you re-learn this stuff after years and years of experimentation, discovery, and patience.

So weird! I have also discovered the same thing and was just going to post! All because I was in a rush one morning and decided to forego my normal 3-pass shave. I now do 1 WTG pass and 1 AGT pass followed by some minor touch ups - works great!

I've moved from 4 passes down to 3, and my shaves are just as good. But I definitely need that 3rd pass to catch every last bit of stubble.

Blue As A Jewel wrote:So weird! I have also discovered the same thing and was just going to post! All because I was in a rush one morning and decided to forego my normal 3-pass shave. I now do 1 WTG pass and 1 AGT pass followed by some minor touch ups - works great!

I run xtg and atg above my chin/jaw line, and wtg and atg on the neck, followed with my usual blade-buffing/j-hook touch ups.

It has been working flawlessly for the past week or two. I love it when you can do more with less.

I started with a one pass shave when learning and worked my way into a 2nd pass, thinking I'd work my way to a 3rd pass as well for an even closer result.

After a couple months of 2 passes, I was getting irritation-free shaves, very rare weepers and no burn with use of an alcohol-based aftershave.
I looked good(relatively speaking) and my shave felt fine.
It occurred to me, why bother with a 3rd pass?

Maybe I could go for BBS, which would be a fleeting feeling, but why risk the irritation?

I am basically running with two sort of cross grain passes, one down and acrosss the other up and across and then touch up along my neck and jaw line with special attention on my right side. I guess you could almost call it a two and a half.

Less is more, shave less to shave better.

Unlike many of our crowns, facial hair isn't going anywhere. If I miss it today I can get it tommorow.

I am skipping an all WTG pass, quite like Wendell told above, and doing 2 latherings + some touchups.

I like the term lathering more, since sometimes I do few strokes on same area in different directions with same lathering (pass).

well, i wish 2 passes would give me a good shave..

actually i can do it,,but i need to do tocuh-ups and do the blade buffing etc etc..so it doesn't save me any time. I feel my 3 pass shave eliminates me having to do touch-up and fancy razor techniques

plus i like 3 passes..
marc

jww wrote:I run xtg and atg above my chin/jaw line, and wtg and atg on the neck, followed with my usual blade-buffing/j-hook touch ups.

+1, This is exactly how I shave 90% of the time. Works like a charm on my medium whiskers, and leaves no irritation behind!!

I use three because that's my pattern but I doubt anyone would notice if I used two.

I've found that one WTG pass suits me just fine. I can still feel some stubble all round and that suits me just fine as well. My beard is mostly gray and the stubble is not really visible, and that suits me very well.

In general I'm a two pass shaver, although I go through phases here and there where I do one pass shaves. Any more than two passes is superfluous for me.

Two and a touch up for me. Like Straight Arrow, my beard is mostly grey, and you have to look pretty close to see the spots that need to be touched up.

For a long time, I was using a two pass shave. Maybe a bit much for my less-than-heavy beard.

Right now, I'm using a one pass shave using an immediate combination of facet shaving and the Gillette slide. Very short strokes according to the topography of the face. Haven't tried the J-hook yet.

If that doesn't quite do the job, it's just relathering and some touchup.

My 2-pass shave: ATG first, WTG second. If I don't use a final WTG pass, my face will be covered with these very small specks of skin. The WTG pass will clean it up.

I mentioned this phenomenon a couple years ago, calling them "skin burrs", and don't remember if anyone could relate. Am I still an oddball?

95% wrote:I've moved from 4 passes down to 3, and my shaves are just as good. But I definitely need that 3rd pass to catch every last bit of stubble.

the beard needs the 3rd or i have to shave all over again to go out at night

wouldn't even dare try against the grain on the first pass

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Kent

I've always wetshaved but only stared using a Safety razor 9 months ago. When I first started I would spend 40 minutes and do 4-5 passes to perfect my technique. Took me a couple of months to get to a standard where I could get BBS/DFS shave whenever I wanted it. These days I take approximately 15 minutes, my the first pass is North-South, my second pass approximately 45 dgress XTG and South-North on my neck a few touch up mostly on my chin and the corners of my mouth and i'm good. This shaves my face close enough to be complimented on the smoothness of face but it's good to know that I can get BBS shave if I want to.

I, too have found that two passes gives me a DFS almost every time now where I was once a three-pass minimum shaver. Today I tried using cold water to prep and rinse between the passes and came close to a BBS with zero irritation. What I love about DE shaving is that it only takes a day or two to be able try something different to improve my shaves, even if the last shave was pretty good. As Mad-Eye Moody would say "Constant Vigilance!"

I'll do two pass shaves if I'm really pressed for time, but they are never as good as when I do my usual three pass routine. As Squire said, it's questionable if anyone else notices the difference...but I do. My three pass shave definately lasts longer than if I do just two, and the abbreviated version just never feels quite 'right' during the course of the day.
Regards,
Gordon