Thread: Newb with a few questions.

Hey everyone. I'm a 28 year old newb with a couple of questions. I've always shaved with a Mach 3 and canned foam.

With the Mach 3 I had to go against the grain to get smooth shave, but on my neck got razor bumps. I got sick of bumps and it really burned me to keep buying cartridges just to throw them away. Plus, I like doing things a little out of sync from most other people. So I got a 6/8 Dovo Best quality from Straight razor designs along with a 2" latigo strop.

So, onto the questions. I've shaved 4 times and I feel like each shave is better than the last. Cheeks are going very well. I have goatee, so chin and upper lip aren't issues. On my neck, my hair grows south to north and a WTG pass doesn't do much. I cant find a comfortable xtg pass on my neck. Any suggestions? What works for others? Anyone else have that problem? If I try to mess with it too much my skin gets irritated.

Side note: is a little suction between the blade and the skin normal or is my lather too dry? Or my angle too narrow?


Also, Im not sure if my stropping is right. My shaves are comfortable on my cheeks, but I get some irritation on my neck. Can I assume that my razor is still sharp if I can shave my cheeks comfortably? Is the irritation on my neck more likely from a dull razor from bad stropping or bad technique on my neck? Not sure if I'm making myself clear or if I'm providing enough info. Let me know if I can add more details.

Other than the neck irritation ( which isn't really new), I love shaving with a straight and look forward to shaving and stropping. Thanks for any help.

Ken

Welcome to SRP.
the irritation on the neck can be a complex problem.
Angle of attack on the whiskers, pressure and stretching.
If the shave is comfortable on the cheeks then the blade is fine and not the problem.
You need to figure out what direction your beard grows on the neck to be able to do the appropriate strokes for XTG pass.

Welcome Aboard, sounds like you're doing quite well for 4 shaves...

A trick I learned after 25 years of using a Straight razor works pretty well on my neck...

Lynn showed it to me at the very first NC meet, skin stretching works great BUT the norm doesn't always work on the neck if your beard is like mine, and it sounds like yours... Stretching top to bottom, or bottom to top, does nothing but get me irritation.. Try front to back, or back to front, I place a thumb on my neck under my ear lobe and pull the skin back, then shave at an angle away from that, and I get smoooooooth, and no irritaion... You have to mess with what works for you, but try a few different directions of stretch and of shave stroke to figure it out...

Basically this is about the same as mapping the face combined with the added aspect of the multi-directional streching...

Thanks for the advice and reassurance. The closeness of just one wtg pass on my cheeks is impressive. I'm very glad I made the switch. The thing I like is that even if there is irritation, there are no razor bumps, just redness.

I'm going to give my face a rest for a couple days, then try your tips.

Thanks!

Welcome to SRP! All good advice noted above. The neck is a difficult area to see your angle and gauge it correctly. I had my wife watch me (after I stopped cutting the heck out of my face) to help gauge my angles. After a while you get the 'feel' for the correct angle. Four shaves in is a little early to start changing technique because you are still getting use to holding the razor properly and haven't developed a technique yet. I also shave in the evening when I have more time to enjoy the shave and pay attention to what I am doing with nothing else on my mind. Technique for one person on their neck may not work for you. Get comfortable using your razor and get the angle correct in all areas. Once you'r there you can try different strokes to improve the shave. Be sure to perform a good shave prep. That really helps a lot when starting off into this sport.

Good luck.

I've found that going XTG works for me on my neck. My hair grows sideways, outward from the Adam's apple. So I shave N to S. WTG doesn't seem to shave very well for me.