Need some advice when shaving my neck

Hi all, i recently bought myself a straight razor and i need some advice.

My first shave was really painfull, did a lazy stropping and held the razor on a 45 degree angle.

My second shave i gave its a better stropping, and had a better angle but is still hurt alot. So i took a break while i was waiting for my hone set, i read alot of comments about new razors and "shave ready".

So today i tried to hone my razor, tried the hanging hair test, didnt work, tried to shave a bit on my arm, seemed better, so i stropped it about 50 times and tried to shave, and wow that made a huge difference, it just cut of my week old beard without hurting at all... on my cheeks, now i have a goatee so i dont know about my chin :)

But my neck, it really really hurt, i think the problem is obviously experience, but i also think its the way my hair grows on my neck, if i follow the guides on this site, i should shave in a downwards motion (wtg) only if i shave down i am actually shaving across the grains... does that make sense?

Try looking at this picture

http://snigermunken.net/neck.gif

The arrows i put in is the way my beard grows on my neck, point 4-6 and 18 and 19 doesnt really hurt, but 16 and 17 hurts so bad i just want to quit shaving, and it doesnt matter if i go up or down, and i am to scared to actually go sideways there.

I have always been very sensitive when shaving on my chin and neck, no matter what razor i have used.

Now i cant tell if it only hurt this much because of the weeks old beard, normally with my mach 3 i have never been able to shave a 7 day old beard without trimming it down first, and then it would still hurt unless i used a brand new blade, so i dont know if i just expect too much from the straight razor, but the straight razor didnt hurt at all on my cheeks.

If it helps, the neck is most people's Achilles ....erm... heel, due to the weird and wonderful ways the hair seems to grow, such as you have so thoroughly demonstrated for your particular case above.

First, I think you are right to be reticent to go sideways across your neck. Generally you should listen to your intuition in these matters, not in the least because without a certain level of confidence things can go badly.

Second, typically neck skin is looser than in other areas and you can take advantage of it if necessary. I do not do it myself, but there have been several people over the years who place the offending area of sideways growth between thumb and forefinger and twist. Then they shave (short strokes) that area. I honestly cannot say how well this works, I have never tried it. I suppose a variation could be to pull the skin from various angles to see if you cannot get that hair to stand up a bit.

Third, try short deft strokes in those areas, maybe with the heel area of the blade. That could help a bit. I tend to do this around my adam's apple where my beard grows in circles, and it seems to work.

Fourth, don't give up. There will be a right way for you to tackle your neck area with a straight. There always is. You just need to find what works best for you in a systematic and careful way. If some of the suggestions above help, that is great but if they don't you must keep at it until you figure it out.

Good luck!

James.

My neck line runs east and west from the Adam's Apple, and I've always had razor bump issues and rash/raw skin because of shaving difficulties there. When I moved to DE and learned how to map and shave with the growth it helped but didn't cure my issues unless I very carefully followed the pattern of growth. With straights I've found no need to shave with the grain and have bump free, healthy skin to boot. What I do is go straight North to South and as I get below the jaw line I decrease my angle to about 10-15 degrees, that will allow you to make short small strokes and won't aggrivate your skin. As of right now I do 3 North to South passes starting at 10-15 degrees and open the angle a little more each consecutive pass. I'm getting about the same quality of shave I was getting DE but shaving in all of one direction. I finish up with the angle about 20-30 degrees and am having 0 issues.

I meant to say the entire first pass is 10-15, then second 15-25, etc...

If you are using a downward stroke try an upward stroke, be sure to stretch the skin and watch that angle.

For what its worth my beard on the neck seems to split at the adams apple, whats on the left side of the apple goes left, whats on the right goes right.

Perhaps too much pressure could be an issue as well.
I recently had my very first case of razor burn on my top lip from that very cause (and a less than sharp razor) shaving ATG

I agree that pressure may be an issue. It's a bit harder to judge the pressure on the neck and I think easier to apply too much pressure. I also have a strange pattern on my neck, and I had a lot of the same issues until I got better technique. It slowly got better, as my skill and technique got better.

The neck is one of my hardest areas to shave too! I had to learn to regrip my razor for the neck area to get a proper angle and to prevent pressure on the blade to keep from getting razor burn and a closer shave. Practice and technique will difinitely help in this area, so don't give up.

Unless you're a really gifted or lucky guy ... chances are your honing skills are not up to the level of a pro honing job. Getting a second razor pro honed would be one approach. Shave with it and use it as a benchmark for your own efforts with the razor you've honed yourself.

I've been shaving with a straight razor for going on 4 years now. The neck and the chin are my toughest spots. I can do one pass on my cheeks but my neck/chin need two. This is with a sharp .... truly shave ready .... razor and with the proper technique learned over the years.

Be patient, don't use pressure and force to make up for keenness. Some guys need three or even four no pressure passes. Keywords being no pressure. I cannot tolerate more than two or three without getting irritation but fortunately I don't need more than two. Everyone has different skin so you'll have to see what works for your particular beard/skin. :gl: