SMF

I may have stumbled upon something -- shaving in an X pattern.

Having tried various passes. and getting OK-but-mediocre shaves, I read a post by Brothers/Gary in which he proposed going against the grain on the first pass. That got me thinking and challenging prior assumptions. Since north, south, east and west produced mediocre results, how about tryin an X shape pattern? Northwest to southeast, then northeast to southwest. I tried it and got a better shave. Perhaps this indicates that my beard growth grain is different than I thought. Let's see how that works over time.

I've known a number of members here to do two across-the-grain (XTG) passes on opposing diagonals, often to avoid going against the grain (ATG).

(I'm spelling it out for lurkers who might not know our acronyms.)

- Murray

I do a single pass wtg, xtg, then atg. Works for me. ymmv

jww wrote:I do a single pass wtg, xtg, then atg. Works for me. ymmv

Works for me too.

If I did a straight north-to-south pass, it would end up being WTG - XTG - WTG - ATG.
So, I do one complete pass all WTG (changing directions as required), then one complete pass ATG, then a third touch-up half pass of XTG and ATG.

Don't forget the "Gillette Slide" (or "Gillette Glide", or whatever), as in Fig. 2:


I do this sometimes, but cautiously.
It sorta' simulates the effect of a slant razor head, but I gather there is a difference in results.
J-strokes are fun too.

As a late follow-up, I offer this short demo video I found, featuring the "Gillette Slide", "J-Hook" (aka "J-Stroke") and "Blade Buffing".


I usually start out with the Gillette Slide on the first pass, and only on my cheeks. I don't see the need to wait until 2nd or 3rd passes.
J-Hooking works best under my jaw, at the sides, partly because my beard keeps changing grain direction around there.
Blade Buffing works better (for me) with an open-comb razor because it seems to do a better job of dragging lather back over the spot I just did.