Thread: Need some Advice! Help!

Im newer to straight razor shaving, still in the first month or 2 and i havent had a problem getting a baby smooth shave almost everywhere on my face EXCEPT straight up the middle of my neck, for some reason after my 2nd pass my skin starts to get irritated(scratchy) and i cant seem to go against the grain right up the middle, everywhere i can fine but it feels like the razor digs in to my skin or gets sticks in the whiskers instead of cutting through them like everywhere else. ANY ADVICE IS APPRECIATED.

First off welcome. Now, what are you Shaving with Andreas it professionally honed? Once we know that we can determine if it is the angle of the razor or not enough lather to lubricate between razor and skin.

You bet the first thing we need to know is who honed it, then we can work on other issues like stretching, prep, stropping and most likely your technique as it takes a lot of shaving before you get proficient at this. Tc

It is a dovo, i stropped it out of the box, felt a little tug on the first shave i did, and after that decided that it was infact NOT shave ready but factory honed, I had then honed it from 4000 to 8000 nortons. I should say although i am new to straight razors i am very experienced with knives and sharpening. the rest of my face i have no other issues with.

A good edge on a straight razor is a far cry from a good edge on knife. There might be a problem with your edge.

Bob

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.

Throw what you know about knife sharpening out the window. This can't be overstated. This means you know next to nothing about razor sharpening. Watch all the videos. Get a razor honed by someone skilled. Also get a Naniwa 12k superstone. When the time comes, use it to refresh the razor. Watch Lynn's video on refreshing a razor. Unless you have a damaged razor, that is all you ever need to know. Good luck.

Actually there are lots of things that you've learned about sharpening knives that can be useful in sharpening a razor. First things first. With the information I have above it appears there is no bevel on your razor, that is done with a 1k hone. Do you have one?

Here is our founders video on the subject:

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.

So for example, the hair on my neck grows from the center out or from the center parallel to my jaw line towards my ears. I start from the center of my neck and go back towards my ear on one side then the other.
Next pass I go at a slight angle, from the center again down towards my collar bone, then at an angle up towards my jaw line.
Last if I even do a third is generally just picking up strays and chasing a super smooth feel. I would honestly say, do not worry about how many passes you do, do not worry about going ATG. Worry instead about shave ready blade, prep, lather and technique. Also skin stretching is very important. Most of all enjoy yourself and YOUR shave