My weird Beard

I really need help, I have tried SR shaving three times now and am not having much luck. My problem I think is that the grain of my beard doesn't run parallel to my neck. It actually runs almost parallel to my jawline so it is slightly diagonal if that makes any sense. Also, I have a beard and am only really looking to shave my neck and part of my cheeks. My razor is sharp it was just honed and stropped but it just seems to tug and not really get mauch of the whiskers off. I am using Art of Shaving pre-shave oil and cream. I think i am getting a good lather. All this leads me to believe it's a technique issue maybe? Any ideas ? Help !

Who honed your razor? How's your shaving angle? Are you pressing in while shaving? Tugging usually means a non shave ready edge or too high an angle or adding pressure. Try adjusting the last 2 I mentioned and see if you have better results. If not then I would think you need the razor honed.

A friend who has been doing SR for quite a long time. Too high an angle, does that mean the spine is too high ? I have been told that the blade lying too flat to the surface causes trouble.

Generally, it is advised to maintain "two spine widths" between your face and the spine of the razor; the trick is keeping this "angle" around all the different curves of your neck. Many of us have this problem with hair growth in multiple/odd directions. You just have to do some experimenting to find the best ways to get the razor going in the right direction. The best advice that I can give is not to allow yourself to obsess over the BBS shave on the neck; remember that, if you're shaving for work, the object is for it to look good since you probably don't have a lot of people touching your face. Going over and over the same spot trying to get every little hair will just cause redness and irritation, which doesn't look nearly as good as a comfortable, reasonably close shave. At least this is what I have to remind myself.

Try doing a couple of searches at the top of the page and do some reading on different tricks guys have discovered. Also, be sure to read the wiki/library; there is a section on "advanced strokes" which I found to be particularly helpful. Lastly, remember that you are learning SR shaving on what many of us consider to be the most difficult part since you are omitting the part of the face that is generally recommended to begin with due to the beard- allow yourself some patience. Good Luck!

Your growth pattern is fairly normal, I am one of many with the same type of hair, if you go straight down you are sort of going accross the grain as a first pass, scything strokes will work, as will tilting your head to one side and essentially pulling your neck up onto where your cheek should be.
I still don't get perfect shaves in the neck region but they are good enough for me. Stick with it, try different stretches etc and you will get there.

Sounds like you are doing the same thing as me on your neck and just shaving the lower half. Most would find this difficult due to starting right in a hard spot. It will get easier but will take practice, patience and some experimenting. Starting mid hair growth doesn't help either. Look up shaving the neck in the search up top and you will come up with heaps of info. My best advise is settle for less to start with and go extremely light and it will come together in time. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask. Ed