Thread: Suggestions for grain direction

I've been straight razor shaving for about 6 months now and I can get BBS on roughly 75% of my face. I am just having a couple places I am having a problem and I would like any advice you guys can give me.

Here is a diagram of some of my facial hair just for reference:


The hair at the edge of my neck grows straight and up. Because of this I have a hard time going ATG. The length of the blade and the shape of my neck make it hard to get in there where the neck sort of meets the jaw line. I could get it in there if I really tried but I would have my head tilted so far back to get my neck straight I couldn't see what I was really doing anymore.

Is there possibly a secret way to hold the blade I don't know about for really weird angles like this, or is there even some sort of alternative pass direction I could take? I find it frustrating that about the jaw I am BBS and below the jaw it's sort of hit and miss.

I can't get BBS everywhere, and, to be honest, I don't bother trying anymore. Whether I shave WTG or ATG or XTG, my face looks the same, and within a few hours, it feels the same too.

Not saying you should give up, just take a moment to consider why you want BBS and if it's worth it.

I think the reason I want it so bad is that I am so close, it is just out of reach.

Thats one of the joys of this fine art...you have to figure out what works for you as none of us are the same. Its taken me years to figure out what works for me and my growth pattern...not to be discouraging. You have to figure out what grip etc. works for you in certain areas. For me a scything stroke works in one pass for some areas but others simply need a good ATG.

I have the most difficulty in the same areas as you, just beneath the jawline. I have to do an ATG pass with my left hand to get the right side clean, and hold the razor backhanded in my right hand to get the left side clean. I'll try to get pictures for you, from tomorrow night's shave.

I start my shaves at the collarline and work up; that gives me relatively dry grip points for stretches as the shaveline climbs my face. For those jawline runs I also tilt my head to one side or the other to increase the stretch; that way I don't need to use the ceiling mirror. ;-)

Do you have a smiling blade? I find that's my best ally to get those tough spots. A spike is undoubtably my worst enemy there.

Just remember: Above all, do no harm!

@Catrentshaving
There are many joys in learning how to straight razor shaving. I remember the first time I got even a small swatch of my face to smooth, I was so overwhelmed with joy. At the time I just told myself the rest will come with time and experience. It has too, I've made pretty good strides in only 6 months and thought it would have taken me much much longer to get to where I am right now. That said, it can slowly wear on you when every couple days you shave, run your hand across your face, and the same old 2 or 3 trouble areas keep creeping up on you. It's sort of humbling too though to realize just how much finesse and attention it takes.

@roughkype
Pictures would be great because my hand just can't seem to figure out a comfortable grip or angle to get decent work done there. I do have a curved tip on my blade, I don't even want to think about what sort of trouble I would have gotten myself into just starting out with a pointed tip.

I'll see if my wife will take some pics tonight.

As promised, some pics:


Left jawline, shaved with right hand. This is a second pass, more or less XTG, and usually with some buffing. The stretch isn't too extreme, at least as far as head tilt goes. My nonshaving hand holds a washcloth against my neck to give me some stretch-traction. This gets this troublesome little patch stretched out just fine for the shave.


This is the right-hand grip I use for this pass. It's not the same that I use for the rest of my face; I consider this my backhand grip. Note that the clean side of the blade is toward the camera; this was the side that was against my skin.


Right jawline, shaved with left hand. Again, second pass, XTG, and you can see that I've done a complete stroke and am now buffing back over it.


...and here's the left-hand grip, also special to this bit of the job. Again, the side toward the camera was the side against my skin.

To do a real against-the-grain pass, I'd have to shave from my ear toward my chin, and I haven't wanted it that smooth that badly to bother. Across the grain gets it clean and doesn't feel too dangerous.

I hope this helps. Best wishes to you.

Hi many thanks for posting this as along with any others I fid it us full to see how other people hold and use there razors and will try for myself to see if these holds sork for me:

Thank you very much for the post, I will have to give this hold a try. Also, hate to admit I've never though it, but I will have to try using a towel for stretch-traction. I'd have to do the ear to the chin thing too, I've only tried it once and am not to keen on trying again.

thanks again!