Maneuvering the razor

Dear all,
I was learning how to shave with straight for couple of months slowly covering more and more of my face, but still can not adequately reach to the area under the ear on my left (I’m right handed and always hold the razor with my dominant hand). Should I just go and do it with my left hand, or there is a particular technique to get there? Also, how do you deal with concave areas in the middle of the neck right around throat? I manage to get them saved, but keep scratching myself with the tip of the razor.

Check the videos section. Xman has done a one handed shaving video and Jockeys videos have a two handed approach. Theres no one right way to do it, and part of the fun is finding a method that works for you..! :)

The adams apple is a problem for a lot of people. The way to deal with it is to pull the skin to get the area as flat as possible and move the skin away from the adams apple. Keep a light touch and watch your angles.

I crane my neck while tilting my head to the right to reach the area under my left ear. I pull down with the left hand below the razor.

On the hollows around the windpipe I pull the areas flat and I don't use the point of the razor but have it extending past the shave area.

If you practice maneuvering a butter knife or something while on the PC or watching TV you'll find it will help you improve the shaving. I did that with a dull razor and learned to shave with the left hand that way.

I have been having problems getting to the areas below the ear where the jaw meets the neck too. Today I think I may of found something that may help, I had been trying to twist my face away from the area to help with stretching but it seemed like that made it harder since it made the contours more pronounced. Today I twisted my face towards the ear, it bunched up the skin, but with a little stretching the skin was tight enough and the area was flat instead of contoured. It seemed to help me. For the hollowed areas a 45 degree angle, just toe or heel, and a scything stroke helps.

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Originally Posted by Jasongreat

I have been having problems getting to the areas below the ear where the jaw meets the neck too. Today I think I may of found something that may help, I had been trying to twist my face away from the area to help with stretching but it seemed like that made it harder since it made the contours more pronounced. Today I twisted my face towards the ear, it bunched up the skin, but with a little stretching the skin was tight enough and the area was flat instead of contoured. It seemed to help me.

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I will try that next time. Do you hold the razor in you left hand when you do so or in the right? I do not have any issues shaving that on the right, but can't reach there on the left with my right hand. Seems like getting my left hand involved sounds like a good idea.

I use both hands and I think doing so is a good idea, however a good clean shave is possible using only one, lots of people do it that way. Being comfortable and relaxed is important while shaving with a str8, imo, so do what feels comfortable till you are getting good shaves then start to add or subtract things to make each shave better and better. I have seen advice to put some tape on the edge then while you are sitting around watching tv or whatever you can practice your strokes and the different grips without worrying about cutting yourself and the practice will really help you feel more comfortable with a razor in both hands, others have said to just do more things through out the day with your off hand and eventually it will feel just as comfortable to use your left as your right. Good luck.

I actually tried to use my left hand this morning and was able to shave my left sideburn w/o cutting my ear off, but once it went down the jaw line I quickly realized that that hand just does not have enough dexterity to move around. I happened to be one of those people who use their dominant hand for all fine work, guess it is time to start build fine motor skills in my left hand.

You will be well served by learning to use your left hand. It saves so much trouble in the long run. There is only so much contortion you can use to continue using just your right hand. Left hand use seems daunting at first but with a little practice it becomes 2nd nature. I don't even think about it any more.

Chris

I'm right handed and for the fist two months of shaving with a str8, I was using only my right hand and having trouble with the left side of my face. To make things worse, about two years ago, I broke my distal bicept tendon in my right arm, had surgery to fix it but lost quite a bit of supernation of my hand (the ability to turn my palm up or down). My chin was where I had the most difficulty shaving on the opposite side of the hand I was using. This always made me nervous because to shave your face on the opposite side of whatever arm you are using means you have to hold the razor the way it was not intended to be held. The problem with doing this is you can't easily feel the razor stop or grab. After a few months I finally got up the nerve to try things out with my left hand. I was a little nervous the first time but let me tell you..I'm so glad I made myself try it. It's so much easier and I don't have the fear of cutting myself. I hope this helps you out some.

Seems that we all run into a particular problem with blade movement. I hae trouble with the tip of my chin. Like everyone seems to say, I keep watching videos to learn technique.

I had the same problems when I started. As far as the left side issue (I'm right handed), I've found that using the left hand works best. It took some time to get coordinated but it works for me. I've also tried reversing the razor in the dominate hand but that didn't work as well.

As far as the the hollows of the neck, I always have trouble around my Adam's apple. The best solution I've found is using just the toe of the razor (a round point works best for me) and buffing the area several times at slightly different angles and using a slicing motion. I've got a really weird swirl to the whisker pattern on my neck. It can be a real challenge sometimes.

Pelkey