Thread: Need some Advice! Help!

Originally Posted by KristofekJ

Thats for sure Bob, as far as testing and everything i did the hanging hair no problem in either direction and i can hover down my arm and cut the hairs right along without touching skin at at.

Funny, I still can't do that but manage fine 4 pass daily shaves. You can do all the tests in the world but it is the shave that is the real test to pass.

Bob

Well, at any rate, I really hope there is enough information here to be helpful. I apologize for everyone trying to step over everyone else with better information. Shouldn't have to be like that here. People should just try to be helpful instead of trying to out do the previous poster. Get's really confusing.

Thanks guys!

To answer some of the questions asked that i got for further help

1.) I have 1k- 30k sharpening/honing stones

2.) My hair in this trouble spot seems like it grows straight down, as straight up against the grain from my adams apple should do it.

As for the irritation after the second pass it seems like its only on my neck? Maybe i just need to get my angle/pressure down better? the sides ATG on my neck come out baby smooth just irritated at the end. Maybe wetter lather? i guess its just more practice.

The center part of the neck and chin, for me anyway, have some of the stoutest whiskers on the face. The edge has to be very good to handle those. By comparison the rest of the facial whiskers are a piece of cake. If you are getting irritation it may also indicate you are using too much pressure to compensate for an edge that is not quite there. That is two reasons to reassess the edge even though you feel it is fine.

Being only recently in straight razor shaving there could also be a matter of technique in that particular area as far as angle on the blade goes.

There are quite a few things that taken alone or together may be a cause for a problem.

All that and more is in the advice given previously. You just have to figure out which one or which combination of possibilities may be the cause of the problem.

Bob

There are some things that I have found while shaving. I cannot go against the grain on every part of mt face. There is an area from the corner of my mouth through my moustache where it is simply no possible, no matter who honed the razor I am using. Skin stretching makes a big difference as does a fairly wet lather. I like my lather almost wet enough to run but not quite. My preshave routine is pretty simple but make a difference too. Just a light coat of Noxema does the trick for me. Do you just have the one razor? If you have more than one razor it would be handy to send one out to get a bench mark and top eliminate any question about your razor. Attending a meet will likely do great things for your ability to shave and hone. A near by mentor can be a handy thing too.

When I'm doing my atg pass straight up on my neck it almost looks like the spine of the razor is touching my neck. If I raise the spine at all I can really feel the resistance change and become harder. As a start, you might want to try lowering the blade angle somewhat. You also have to rotate the razor during the stroke to follow the curve of your neck while trying to keep a consistent blade angle. It's a little easier said than done and takes some practice.
Think about lower blade angle and following the curve of your neck to chin while shaving and I think you'll feel a difference.
Good luck!

Pete <:-}

Originally Posted by petercp4e

When I'm doing my atg pass straight up on my neck it almost looks like the spine of the razor is touching my neck. If I raise the spine at all I can really feel the resistance change and become harder. As a start, you might want to try lowering the blade angle somewhat. You also have to rotate the razor during the stroke to follow the curve of your neck while trying to keep a consistent blade angle. It's a little easier said than done and takes some practice.
Think about lower blade angle and following the curve of your neck to chin while shaving and I think you'll feel a difference.
Good luck!

Pete <:-}

thanks that sounds like it might actually work

Also, when shaving in the area of the adam's apple, it tends to be easier to never shave the skin over the adam's apple. This is accomplished by pulling the skin to the side and shaving that midline skin when it no longer is over that adam's apple.

So, first when you have an issue with an edge, look at it with magnification, you may have a small chip and it cutting you. Hair test are inconclusive, because you are testing a very small part of the edge. They might tell you that a part of a blade is sharp, but not the whole blade, and tell you nothing about the level of keenness and smoothness of the edge.

I would look especially at the middle of the blade, when we shave the rest of our face, we use the tip and heel, shaving with only about an inch, at a time. You may be removing more shaving cream, but are really shaving at the skin, with only a small portion of the blade. The neck and middle of the lip ATG, are probably the only time you shave with the middle of the blade.

I like at least 60X, if you see no chips, then look straight down on the edge, make sure the entire edge is meeting, no light reflections. You can buy decent magnification for just a couple dollars, literally.

Do not hone a razor like a knife, (building a burr on one side, then the other). If you do, the burr will break off and leave a jagged edge. Once the bevel is fully set, use much less pressure than honing a knife. The goal is to get the edge as straight as possible, at each stone in the progression, and remove the stria of the previous stone, completely.

This is what guys were talking about, the difference between razors and knives. It really is a different way of honing and a much finer and delicate edge.

If the edge is good, then it is technique and prep. Buy a good soap, against the grain is usually a problem for lots of folks, it is just a matter of finding the right angle, pressure, learning how much your skin can handle and how to strop properly and efficiently.

You can do everything right on the hones and ruin it, with one swipe on the strop. Go slow, learn to flip with your fingers, not your wrist, stop, then flip, and use light pressures. Many an edge is chipped, rolled or wiped, by new stroppers. A straight razor edge is a very fragile thing.

Find a local mentor, it will cut your learning curve considerably. Welcome to the forum.

Post photos of your razor and your stones.

Originally Posted by gcbryan

If you shaved everywhere but your neck and it shaved fine then your razor is fine regardless of how you hone knives.

I'd say that you are having problems not taking into account that your neck hair probably changes direction. Try approaching that area from a slightly different direction.

People sometimes like to answer their question rather than yours or rather they have an answer that they like to give regardless of what question you actually asked.

+1 on this.

When shaving the middle of your neck, your "Adam's apple" can get in the way, especially if it is prominent. One thing that can help is to swallow and then hold that position while you shave up the middle of your neck. That flattens the front of the neck, making it easier to shave.