Stopped shaving ATG and wow

Sorry guys but it looks like I may be one of the few who still wants and enjoys a BBS shave too much to abandon it for a more comfortable shave. It was the search for a closer shave that brought me to wet shaving a couple of years ago. I couldn't get it with a cartridge and even less with an electric. So while I have a little discomfort once in a while I enjoy the feel of a BBS shave plus the closeness in the evening too much to move from a thee pass to a two pass shave. Besides, I enjoy the lathering on the third pass! Usually I can get a BBS shave without discomfort although once in a while the chase for a BBS shave does cost me some irritation but maybe that's to be expected from a 75 year old face. My problem usually comes from sloppy technique and/or poor quality soap. What is interesting to me is that any irritation comes from the left side of my face and never from the right side. Hmmm. Maybe I need to try a SE razor which I understand may give a closer shave with fewer passes that a DE razor.

For the sensitive areas that become irritated by shaving ATG with a safety razor, I have found it is possible to get a better shave by replacing the XTG-ATG passes with two passes that approach at a 45 degree angle. This splitting the difference approach gets closer than XTG alone, and is not as irritating as an ATG pass.