Thread: My dang neck!

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Welcome to the most friendly, helpful and informative site on the web!!

You will find members here of all different backgrounds, ages and occupations from all corners of the world and all with a quest for more knowledge about using and maintaining a straight razor!

I have never dealt with the seller of your razor, perhaps some other of your countrymen will join in!

With that said: Was the razor custom honed or did it come with a factory edge?? If it was a factory edge, then it is shall I say ‘lacking’! And that may be your major problem!!

Next; Have you stropped the razor? If so was the shave worse/better/or the same??

Now I also wonder about the s/n are you referring to going from the neck to the chin? If so is this a first pass or a second?

Again, Welcome to an older but better way of shaving!!

Phil custom hones all his razors, at least he advertises that he does and the feedback on his site is very positive. I have stropped the razor and used 5 passes on felt and .25 diamond spray with 30-40 passes on a bridal strop. I found the sharpness had improved after significantly.

S/N refers to the growth of my neck hair but as I posted above in reply to another, it's not quite as S/N as I first thought. Regardless, the hair generally grows up from the bottom of my neck. It was my first pass on two days growth.

Thanks for the reply.

John

Originally Posted by Creox

Phil custom hones all his razors, at least he advertises that he does and the feedback on his site is very positive. I have stropped the razor and used 5 passes on felt and .25 diamond spray with 30-40 passes on a bridal strop. I found the sharpness had improved after significantly.

S/N refers to the growth of my neck hair but as I posted above in reply to another, it's not quite as S/N as I first thought. Regardless, the hair generally grows up from the bottom of my neck. It was my first pass on two days growth.

Thanks for the reply.

John

Yes, Phil does all the razors himself, when I had the pleasure of getting a lesson from him on how to use my coticule, he had a nice setup with dozens of razors and all his stones, and I've had many blades done by him and they're all perfectly done.

As Gssixgun(Glen) says, beginning in straight shaving it's always, 1) the blade, 2) the lather, 3) your beard, or a few other things we have all blamed / questioned when we first started out.

Take it slow, and make sure you're following the proper angles with no pressure and stropping properly...it all eventually comes together.

Good luck!

Just my two cents here. My razor pulls and I still get about a 97 % bbs on my neck and all over for that matter. I'm not saying that you should not worry about having a sharp razor by any means. Everyone here is pretty much covering all bases and such so I can only say this. It has been my experience that, since Wet shaving usually involves more than one pass that the ATG pass should be done last. That to me should be on the finish up as it is pretty aggressive and with those whiskers being longer on the first go, you want to be more kinder to your face as their is more resistance if that makes sense. Again that's a personal experience of my own. Light pressure and shorter more focused strokes on the first pass (not ATG) and then come back on the second or third if need be pass to finish ATG usually seems a lot kinder and I get no redness or irritation. Cheers.

Oh yeah...ATG always the final pass for me!

Originally Posted by Creox

Phil custom hones all his razors, at least he advertises that he does and the feedback on his site is very positive. I have stropped the razor and used 5 passes on felt and .25 diamond spray with 30-40 passes on a bridal strop. I found the sharpness had improved after significantly.

S/N refers to the growth of my neck hair but as I posted above in reply to another, it's not quite as S/N as I first thought. Regardless, the hair generally grows up from the bottom of my neck. It was my first pass on two days growth.

Thanks for the reply.

John

Ok, are you shaving from the neck to the chin on the first pass? If so how does it go?

Also, are you using the diamond spray every time you strop? Just wondering!

Originally Posted by Phrank

Yes, Phil does all the razors himself, when I had the pleasure of getting a lesson from him on how to use my coticule, he had a nice setup with dozens of razors and all his stones, and I've had many blades done by him and they're all perfectly done.

As Gssixgun(Glen) says, beginning in straight shaving it's always, 1) the blade, 2) the lather, 3) your beard, or a few other things we have all blamed / questioned when we first started out.

Take it slow, and make sure you're following the proper angles with no pressure and stropping properly...it all eventually comes together.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely be taking it slower on Monday.

Originally Posted by cudarunner

Ok, are you shaving from the neck to the chin on the first pass? If so how does it go?

Also, are you using the diamond spray every time you strop? Just wondering!

I'm attempting to shave from the neck up to the jaw line on each side with the first pass going south to north. I find the first strokes at the bottom of my neck jump and I stall a bit. I am unsure of my angle or how to get a shallower one...just nerves.

I have used the diamond spray once for 5 laps and used the leather before and after I shave 25-30 laps.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

Just my two cents here. My razor pulls and I still get about a 97 % bbs on my neck and all over for that matter. I'm not saying that you should not worry about having a sharp razor by any means. Everyone here is pretty much covering all bases and such so I can only say this. It has been my experience that, since Wet shaving usually involves more than one pass that the ATG pass should be done last. That to me should be on the finish up as it is pretty aggressive and with those whiskers being longer on the first go, you want to be more kinder to your face as their is more resistance if that makes sense. Again that's a personal experience of my own. Light pressure and shorter more focused strokes on the first pass (not ATG) and then come back on the second or third if need be pass to finish ATG usually seems a lot kinder and I get no redness or irritation. Cheers.

Thanks for the reply.

My first pass is wtg and I rarely ever go atg up till this time. Only time I have is with a DE and once with the shavette on the bottom of my neck where a couple of strays are hard to file off wtg.

I guess my biggest question mark is why the shavette would be easier to use, smoother etc? Is that just due to the obvious differences in the way they are designed?

Using .25 diamond on leather probably won't help in terms of comfort...a lot of people find it to be too harsh. Even when using .5 diamond, it's common to follow up with .5 chromium oxide. This is because the diamond particles are sharp, while the chromium particles are smooth. If I were using .25 diamond, I'd still follow up with .5 chromium oxide.

The medium that you apply these compounds to is also a factor. Diamond on hard pressed wool or some sort of soft fabric would be smoother than diamond on leather or balsa. The same is true with crox.

Another thing to know is that the more you use a pasted strop, the more the compound is worked into it's medium.

What is the .25 diamond on, felt or leather?

Originally Posted by Creox

Thanks for the reply.

My first pass is wtg and I rarely ever go atg up till this time. Only time I have is with a DE and once with the shavette on the bottom of my neck where a couple of strays are hard to file off wtg.

I guess my biggest question mark is why the shavette would be easier to use, smoother etc? Is that just due to the obvious differences in the way they are designed?

I fully understand about ‘nerves’! I’ve told many people that when a man first puts a straight razor against their throat and say that they aren’t ‘Nervous’ is a liar! I know that I was nervous as hell!

Since you have gotten ‘better’ shaves with your shavette, there are a couple of things to put into the already complicated formula!

First, the length of the shavette is much shorter than a straight! Second there is the difference in size and weight also the angles should be different because of the different sizes!

Phrank was absolutely correct when he said that Glen has repeatedly said that there are many things that those who are first starting out can ‘blame’ the poor shave on! You’ve said that the razor was custom honed and Phrank joined in verifying that the razors are personally honed! So that should delete one!

You seem confident that your stropping is correct!

Sooo---

Even though you seem hesitant to, please lower your razor when you first start your upward pass/if this doesn’t help, try going n/s where you usually get to the pulling and stopping with your straight!

It might be worse, but you never know until you try!

This Art has so many learning curves that it’s not even funny!! Years ago when a young man needed to start shaving he had his father or an uncle or even perhaps a grandfather who would guide them! Plus their beard was still young and soft so they learned as the beard changed!

Hang in there! It’s a long road but the journey is well worth the trip!