I can get my cheeks as smooth as silk. Almost. But when it comes to my neck I have hair growing east to west nw se and all around. It takes me a good 40 minutes to get a less than presentable shave.
Tips?
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I can get my cheeks as smooth as silk. Almost. But when it comes to my neck I have hair growing east to west nw se and all around. It takes me a good 40 minutes to get a less than presentable shave.
Tips?
Matt,
I will stretch the skin of my neck down and back. It seems to raise the whiskers enough for me. I'll do 2 very light passes like that and I'm all done for the day. If I've stretched it properly I get smooth as glass.
Quote:
Originally Posted by steve
Pretty much the same for me if the razor is sharp enough.
My neck is my real acid test for sharpness. If the razor isn't perfectly sharp then I won't get smooth there no matter what, but if it is sufficiently sharp then a single pass against the grain will get BBS. Anywhere else on my face I can compensate with extra passes or more pressure, but on my neck there is simply no substitute for sharp.
This is very true... I have noticed the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by mparker762
One thing I've noticed is that it's possible to overstretch the skin on my neck. When I do this, the hairs lie flat and don't get cut. I try to stretch just enough that the skin isn't going to catch the razor.
You also want to resist the urge to go after pesky hairs with pressure. Light pressure and low blade angle--actually flat against my skin in many cases--works best.
Glad to hear you're making some progress on your cheeks, at least. :)
Josh
sO HOW should one hold a razor when Trying to move from east to west on the neck. I am finding it quite difficult to move in a horizontal direction on the neck.
Best thing I can tell you is to experiment, and do so s-l-o-w-l-y. Different strokes for different folks. I haven't found a way to do a complete horizontal cut that's anywhere near safe, but you can do a nice across the grain once you work it out.
Same with me. I use a barber hone each time I shave. Then I use Tony Miller's 1.0 pasted and 0.5 pasted paddle strop. After all that I strop being careful not to go on an angle. I also use some hair conditioner in the shower.
After I do all that my neck gets BBS (almost). Otherwise I can not get the neck smooth.
Jerry
Try a cutting motion with the toe leading. It's not quite 100% horizontal but it is safer and the recommended cutting stroke according to the barber manuals.Quote:
Originally Posted by matt
http://straightrazorpalace.com/compo...d,3/mode,view/
Whenever I do this I just, very lightly, pull the razor down and slightly diagonally toward the tip of the razor. Seems to work well.
I have the same problem with my neck. I do what I think Steve does only I go the other direction, i.e. take a look at his referenced diagram. My arrows would point back to the heal instead of forward from the toe. North to South labeling is clear to me, but the East, West labels are ambiguous, so... I do an against the grain keeping my razor essentially level and shaving down while at the same time going slowly from ear to throat (cause my neck wiskers seem to grow from throat to ear). Now I do this as a second pass and VERY CAREFULLY. I still don't get real BBS, but it's the closest I can do and is good enough for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by steve
I have tried to shave up my neck on a second pass and the razor just sticks, scrapes, and leaves a pretty good burn. Blade angle or not sharp enough for my beard?
Thanks.
Flatten the blade angle to the skin. Try laying the spine closer to the skin and see what happens and keep a light touch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jfala
Okay. The stubble in my neck I can not conquer. It sticks to my skin and there is no way around it. One thing I notice is Stretching the skin beyond the cheeks is really hard. My neck is to slippery to get a stretch I want. I can stretch down but that does not seem to be cutting it. I have hair that grows srom NW-SE W-E SW-NW and W-E all around my gdamn neck. Same problem when I need to shave my jaw and chin area. Any others experience this?
I have the same problem with my straight razor shaves, i can tell though that the problem is that we dont get them sharp enough, if i ever shave with the dovo shavette straight ( the one that uses disposable blades) no matter what, how or where you save the hair is going down regardless of preparation ,technique etc,etc leaving you bbs guaranteed.
tha question is ( wich i havent so far...) can we get a straight as sharo as a disposable? ha sanybody ever done it?
I have a norton on the way and I am working on a Swaty hone. Maybe I will find out. If not I just may sell some of this stuff and try a straight disposable.
What helps for me is a move known as the bullfrog. Looking straight ahead move your head back without moving your shoulders, this should puff out your neck a little.
For me it makes the tough concave areas nice and flat or convex, opening up some good shaving angles.
Concave areas on the neck are a b...ane! The stretches and moves I go through to conquer them! And the swirl-type growth there doesn't help shaving either :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Shur
Sure, I can get them BBS neck easily if I don't mind a little burn - but I do. So I have to be extra-careful, use a very light touch, optimal angle, etc. Sometimes I get very nice results; other times - not soo much...
Cheers
Ivo
I agree, sometimes I do pretty well on the neck. Sometimes not. I'm just now noticing my 5+ o'clock shadow. It seems there are really two overlapping, 90 degree different concaves on the neck. The first and most obvious, the concave from the chin ridge to down the neck. The more subtle, and now noticable to me is the slight concave hollow following the jugular (sorry, best way to describe it). That hollow right now is getting bristly on both sides. I find to shave the stubborn spots I have to angle the blade about 30 to 45 degrees, with a bit more pressure too. Or, I can lower the angle but run the blade at about a 30 to 40 degree slanting direction to the horizontal of the blade edge. I'm not sure either is a recommended technique. :shrug:
You know, sometimes I'm not sure which I find more thrilling. Riding my sport bike at 100+mph, or shaving with a straight razor over the jugular while trying to angle for a good pass at the stubble. Both are a challenging, addictive rush. :cool:
I was having trouble getting under my chin and my neck shaved close. I started trying different directions which required some weird twisting of the head and neck along with some strange holds. Then I read this thread and the initial posts that sharpness is key. I started thinking back a few months to when I first started and realized that a N-S then S -N passes had been enough for a close shave in these areas. I had only been using my 0.5 pasted strop to maintain my blade. So on Monday, I did ten passes on the 3.0 side, 10 passes on the 1.0, and 15 on the 0.5. Now I'm back to a smooth shave under the chin and on the neck without all the gyrations, just two passes one down and one up. For the way my hair grows in these areas these passes are both mostly across the grain.
Therefore I concur that sharpness is key and I now know that when I'm not happy with the neck area it is time to sharpen the blade.