Thread: Razor position when shaving neck

Note that I haven't shaved with a straight yet, as it is still with customs...
But anyway, I'm busy planning my first shave.

The whiskers on the side of my neck grow sideways, from the side of the neck (i.e. below the ear lobes) towards the adams apple. Hair growth at the front of the neck is straight down from the chin.

Shaving WTG down the front should be easy enough, but how do I hold the razor to do the WTG "sideways" stroke at the sides of my neck?

The most likely solution I've come up with is to extend the handle so that it's in line with the razor blade (i.e. one loooong razor) and shave with my right hand on the left neck, and the left hand on my right neck. Does that make sense? I can't think of any other way without the scales bumping into all sorts (like my collar bone).

Any opinions (especially from other folks with sideways neck hair growth) much appreciated!

Mine grows sideways in patches (I have cowlicks on my neck). You can use either a backhand stroke or an inverted forehand stroke to get these whiskers. It'll all become more obvious once you get the razor in hand. If you've got a dull razor like a Zeepk or Mehaz it'll be good to practice with.

My advice is to avoid a sideways pass on the neck.
Use light, even pressure and make a pass from the base of the neck up to the midline, about adams apple level. Use small shaving motions as demonstrated in some recently posted videos (Turkish and/or Tunisian Shave).
Then make a pass down, from just below the jaw-line to meet, and slightly overlap the first pass.

Trying to make a sideways pass on the neck is awkward and it's more likely you will end up cutting yourself. Just go light and smooth.


Scott

I just posted some pics of my technique on this thread.

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so this is the progression we have all been waiting for, real pictures of the X-Man

Effective skin stretching is really important on the neck. A diagonal ATG /XTG pass can help if the hair runs sideways. On my final pass I try to take small sections of my neck and really concentrate on stretching the skin.


Justin

My blade is positioned firmly on the countertop if I want absolute BBS on those sideways neck whiskers, while I finish with easy E-W and diagonal passes with a DE in order to get that last little bit of stubble.

I wanted to be a real purist about straight shaving but after hassling with every stretch, blade hold, twist, and stroke I could come up with over several months of trying I decided it was smarter for me to just use the best tool for the job.

A straight gives me the best shave everyplace but my neck, but the DE does the best there after I've taken most of it off with a straight. I used to feel like I was cheating by using anything but a straight but I got over that after getting consistently perfect results by using both. As much as we enjoy the ritual of straight shaving, it's about results too and I want the best I can get.

I think most will tell you the neck is the most challenging area to shave. I do one against the grain shave and one with. I've tried all these fancy scything motions and diagonal moves and I've found they do me no good. If I wanted a BBS shave on my neck I have two choices. I can use my japanese Straight where I can go across my neck or use a DE. Personally to me its not that big a deal. I'm still getting a great shave on my neck so I can't see using a different tool to get that nth degree.

To each his own and I won't fault anyone else's routine but for me if I felt I had to use a DE to finish my neck I wouldn't bother with the straight at all. But hey, some guys use 2 and 3 razors each time they shave.

Originally Posted by floridaboy

so this is the progression we have all been waiting for, real pictures of the X-Man

I'm still waiting for him to change his avatar to a real x-man, like wolverine, or colossus

Originally Posted by jimmyman

I'm still waiting for him to change his avatar to a real x-man, like wolverine, or colossus

I think you have a tenuous grasp on reality there, Jimmy. Those guys are fictional. I'm the real X-Man.

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