Hey everyone,

I've been having some issues getting a smooth shave with my new Dovo Best Quality 5/8. I know it is honed correctly since Lynn honed it for me when I bought it, but I'm having a lot of trouble in my neck area. I was using a Fromm "hair shaper" that takes "feathers" and was having the same issues, but not to this extent. This morning I tried out my real str8 for the first time and it did awesome on my face for only doing one WTG pass, but on my neck the hair grows towards the back of my head and is much thicker, so it is very difficult to shave it correctly, especially in the areas right below my jaw line on either side of my adams apple. When I tried to do this area I gave up on trying to position the blade correctly to go WTG and just went NTS. Just like when I used the Fromm, the blade got caught up by the hair in that area on either side of the adams apple, so I went with short light strokes and got through it. Only when I did this I ended up with terrible irritation and one big nasty nick. I'm hoping maybe this is just due to the learning curve that comes with using a str8, but I also know that my facial hair is quite thick (considering I had to start shaving at 10 years old, it's quite well developed to say the least). I did strop it 20 passes before shaving and my stropping technique though slow, is quite solid. I showered and washed my face before shaving and used hot water, kept my face wet and lathered up to let it soak in while I stropped. I then lathered again to make sure it was good and went at it, making sure I was rinsing and wiping my blade as well (the way Lynn does in his DVD). I was using Tabac shave soap with a Simpson badger brush. I believe my angle was right since the upper part of the spot under my jaw line on either side went well, but maybe I'm wrong. I hope I've provided enough info for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong or give me some tips. Also feel free to give any general tips on technique since I'm sure plenty of us newbies are running into these kinds of problems. I apologize if this is a repeat thread since I'm sure this is a common trouble spot for many of us new guys.