Scything, prickly neck

Hi there! I'm a new SR user of just a couple of months. What is a "scything" stroke, and how can I get my neck smooth, especially on each side of my Adam's Apple where the whiskers grow all sideways out swirly and wonky!?! :matrix: My technique elsewhere is improving, and I can smooth up effectively without irritation or burn. The only other place I have trouble is again on my neck under the jawline and approaching the center line of the neck. The whiskers here grow outwards and downwards on one side and outwards and upwards on the other side (?!?!?). I seem to have sparse prickly "fibers" as Charles Roberts (RMWS - aka Method Shaving) would call it instead of "growth" or "grain". These prickly little cactus fibers here and on my Adam's Apple as mentioned above drive me crazy! If someone has experienced similar troubles and has some strategies for removing the thorns I would be eternally grateful! I can clear these up with my DE, but can't seem to remove them with the SR.

I use one of the following (all purchased from you guys on SRP!):

-Larkin full-hollow round point
-John Holler half hollow Spanish point
-J.A. Hellberg quarter hollow notch point
-Wm. Greaves notch point wedge
-Wade & Butcher notch point wedge

Thanks guys!
Mike

Here is a link to a few of the "strokes" you can make, the scything method included. Excellent animated illustration.

Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I know what you mean about the prickly little hairs that you just can't get BBS on your neck near the adam's apple.

I still haven't found a perfect way to do it for ME yet. Everyone is different, so I would just suggest trying coming at them at different angles until you find a way to get them.

I occasionally manage to get that area smooth, but I still haven't narrowed down the exact technique or combination that gets the job done.

Keep trying, and touch it up with the DE if you have to until you find a method. That would be my best suggestion. Just don't try too much during one shave or you will either get major irritation or end up cutting yourself :p And that's not good ;)

Thanks! This link is great! Tons of stuff to try!

My neck is the same way, it seems to me that the direction I stretch the skin helps a little(E to W instead of N to S), and always go WTG no matter which way that is, first. Some days I get a smooth neck, some days I get no irritation but its not smooth and every once in while I get a smooth and irritation free neck. Another important aspect is, like pointed out by Rob above, do not try too much on any one spot or you will get irritated or cut as I have done every time I try to do that. I pretty much give my neck 1 WTG pass and then am very selective of the areas I will do a second(XTG) pass, then I live with what ive gotten. The face I wil go back for another XTG pass if needed but with my neck less is more. The trouble spot on my neck is the first spot I shave, so I dont forget and hit it ATG or XTG while doing the rest of my neck.

+1 to Jason, I forgot about the stretching...you may have to stretch it a little tighter if you have little creases like I do.

I'll have to double check that to see if it's a contributor, but I am pretty sure it would help.

Jasongreat,

At this point I can't offer a lot of advice...Lynn's dvd does have a segment on shaving that shows him shaving his neck ATG--after he has shaved his neck WTG. He holds the razor a bit like a knife and with his opposite hand (ie. left-hand/right side of neck) shaves his neck.

I've tried Lynn's technique the last two times I used my str8 razor and it works fine. Just remember to stretch the skin of your neck and go slow as you're moving the blade upward towards your chin and jaw(s).

Jhenry,

I was just saying what works for me, there are lots of shavers im sure that can go against the grain, but for me I get irritation without doing it and the one or two times I have tried ATG were the most uncomfortable days of my life. I may revisit ATG down the road but as of now I get close comfortable shaves without it.

you will notice that in any direction you shave your face should be ultra smooth in that direction and prickly opposite. So make a pass and for teh rest of the day figure out by strokign your neck what the most prickliest direction is and make a pass that way. It'll help.

For example my quicky is a WTG pass from my chin to chest direct and when stroked (after shaving) that way it feels BBS smooth, but stroking from chest to chin its almost like I didn't shave. So adding another pass that way helps a lot. Then I add a slight diagonal pass and then I'm bbs all the way.

Regarding stretching -- I find that the most effective way to
stretch the skin is to pull in the opposite direction of hair
growth (i.e. if it grows predominantly down, stretch the skin
pulling upwards).

The neck is a tricky area, just be patient and experiment with
different strokes and stretching

:gl:

- Scott

Yekim, I have the exact same problems. My jawline poses some problems, however the hair on my neck to my left and right of my adams apple is my white whale. I can't get it smooth. I tried the scything motion tonight and that gave me the best results to date. Keep at and please post your progress. Thanks so much for posing your question!

Thanks everyone for the great info! I got a smooth shave yesterday with some scything, some buffing, some obsessing, some cleanup with a 1940's Schick Injector, and some burn! All is good this morning though. The burn is gone and my skin will be ready for another round this afternoon. Now it's time to dial it back a bit and see what works best to most efficiently get the pricklies cut without irritation and not so much obsessiveness :-). I guess I just get so caught up in the enjoyment of the shave and focused on the smoothest result that I relegate the potential consequences to my subconscious!

I'll keep at it and report back with my results. Tanks again to all for your info and support!!!

Mike (yekim156)