Two shaving dilemmas

Ok, so I have two different issues to discuss here. For one, no matter what soap, cream, stuff in a can, etc.. that I use, I always have quite a bit of trouble with irritation and nicking on my neck unless I wait for the stubble to grow out quite a bit before shaving (about 2mm or so).... The skin there is so sensitive that it takes me a few days to recover from a bad shave.. Now here's the kicker, I don't yet use a straight razor, but I'm hoping that a good 'shave ready' straight blade will help that situation.. Aside from that, does anyone have any ideas on why this is such an issue?

Issue number two, the reason I'm not using a straight razor yet.. My wife was great and bought me a really nice looking shaving set for xmas, but it turns out that according to several sites, that's all it will ever be.. good looking.. (zeepk) But I don't know how to break that news to her, as she'll be pretty upset knowing that she got me the worst razor brand ever.. I was also hoping that maybe someone on here has actually been able to get a fairly serviceable shave from the zeepk razors, that way it's not totally useless...

Welcome to SRP. Are you using a DE ? If not what are you shaving with? The only answer I know of is proper preparation and stretching techniques. I can only go by my own experience and I don't have those issues. Here is the SRP Wiki with a beginner's guide and tutorials and videos on all things straight razor shave related. No experience with the zepek so no help there either.

As for creams, soaps, and stuff. I don't know enough about em but do a search for sensative skin on these forums and you'll see that plenty of members have posted info for what they use for their sensative skin, if you think that is the issue.

There are also a number of members that talk about a number of skin issues going away once they start straight shaving (with proper technique) so I imagine there are good odds that you will see an improvement on your neck.

As for the razor you received as a gift I have two possible solutions...

Buy another razor with the excuse that you really should have a second one to allow the edge on the razor to rest after use. After you get the good razor, wait a few days and "accidentally" drop the crappy razor on the tile, or bang it on the faucet while you are "rinsing it off". Once the razor has a huge chip in it, appologize to your wife for breaking the gift she got you and tell her that you will send it out in hopes that one of our restoration guys will be able to fix it. Then throw it in the trash at work or anywhere away from the house. If she ever asks about it again, tell her the experts said it was beyond repair.

Then you can buy yourself another good razor to replace it (remeber you're telling her you need a second razor to start off this whole ruse, you need to keep it up by getting a second razor when you break the crappy one). A little bit of work and subterfuge and you get two good razors to replace the one bad one.

-or-

You could tell her, "You know this is not a very good razor for use on my face but it will save me a fortune in strops as a solid practice razor. and I can use it to practice a rescale before I attempt on a vintage razor. I can also dull the edge to teach our son to shave when he's old enough. I love it, thank you"

thanks for the fast replies! I definitely think the second option you presented will be the best, especially considering the kit came with two blades.. plus it will still have some usefulness that way too.. and I could re-purpose the second one for many of our different crafting projects (i.e.: leatherworking) or something.. Just still dreading telling her the blades are crap.

To my knowledge no one has ever been able to do much with that razor you have. As far as your shave issues usually it a matter of pressure or too many strokes in the same area especially if your using a cartridge. With a DE or straight you can add angle to that mix.

Soap and cream are really relatively minor things when compared to the use of the razor. With good technique you could shave with water and get a great shave but even if you had the best shave prep in the world and the best cream and preshave products if the razor isn't there or your skills need honing you'll never get a shave worth a hill of beans.

Thanks, and I am going to keep the blades and see if I might be able to hone them myself to a useable fashion, but if not, it'll give me some awesomely cheap honing/stropping practice.. And my shaving problem doesn't have anything to do with amount of strokes really, except that even with a brand new cartridge razor, the hairs grow in so many different directions that I have to come at that area from all directions to get everything.. But anywho, I'm sure my problems will be solved with a straight.. speaking of which.. can anyone suggest a good inexpensive starter blade? My budget would have to be $100 or below.. I'm not looking for the best shave out there, just something good that will get me used to straight shaving.. Also, the Strop that I got in the kit is Zeepk, but I have no way of telling if it's good or not.. One side is a thick burnished leather that I'm thinking is probably too hard/smooth, but the other side is a thin, supple (but not too soft, holds tension well) black leather that seems to have some good drag, oh, and it's a hanging strop btw.. but will that soft side be good for stropping? from the videos I've seen, it seems to be about the right softness and drag, but I wouldn't really know

Thanks for all the help guys

welcome to srp

i seem to remember one person posting about getting great shaves out of a zeepk, that was one of the frequent trolls that visit us when they feel lonely and rejected.
the strop is quite likely pretty useless too. last year sicboater managed to bring one of these to service, but he said it took few hours of sanding and a lot of conditioning to make the leather useful. i think you'll be better off getting a good strop.
there is no reason not to be able to get a top of the line blade under $100, but you'll have to compromise on the newness and the cosmetics and get a vintage razor which may not look like new (the best place is the classifieds section and you want it to have been honed and tested by somebody with good experience). if on the other hand looks are important, the entry level dovo is there.

I prep my face with hot water to soften my beard. Then I use some preshave oil to help lubricate my face so that the razor glides more easily. You can make your own oil using a mix of castor oil and a little bit of olive oil added. I wip up a nice thick lather in a shaving mug using my badger hair brush and shaving soap. I have found from experience that squirting a little bit of Edge shaving gel into the mug makes the lather a bit slicker. This preparation allows me to get a close, smooth shave from any one of my well sharpened straight razors without leaving any razor burn. Get a decent razor made of good quality carbon steel and have it professionally sharpened if you haven't mastered the honing process. You don't need an expensive razor to get a good shave. A couple of razors that give me an excellent shave cost less than $100 a piece. A new razor is seldom shave-ready unless you purchase it from a dealer who will hone it before sending it to you.