Thread: Advice on shave technique for neck

Originally Posted by BobH

Getting the lather right is so important as it can make a sharp blade act like it is dull. I think nobody gets it right 100% of the time either. Here is a link to lathering that I had found useful for myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4zESTQWDuw

Bob

Courtesy of BobH, I re-watched this video last evening and this evening I did his "dry" brush technique with Maggard's Orange Menthol soap and a smallish Semogue brush. It worked like a charm and took me back to when I paid more attention to my lather. Shaved with my Muhle R41 and a Feather blade and got a fantastic 2 pass shave. Slapped on some Floid Orange A/S and I'm a happy camper! Thanks Bob for reminding me!

Originally Posted by BobH

Getting the lather right is so important as it can make a sharp blade act like it is dull. I think nobody gets it right 100% of the time either.
Bob

Excellent point, Bob. Slickness of lather, essential for shaving with a straight, is largely dependent upon adequate hydration of the lather. I think many people tend to not hydrate their lather enough. If the soap doesn't easily rinse from the blade, it's not hydrated enough. I tend to start with a damp but not wet brush and build a protolather in the tub by slowly adding very small amounts of water to the brush, either by lightly dipping to tips of the brush in water, or by dripping a few drops of water at a time to the brush. Once I get a relatively shiny protolather in the tub, I'll take it to my face and face lather, while continuing to add small amounts of water until I obtain a shiny, slick, well hydrated lather. Each soap behaves differently, and it takes experience with a particular soap to dial in the appropriate amount of hydration. Some soaps, such as B&M and Mike's, are very thirsty soaps and require a considerable amount of water to be well hydrated, while other soaps would be too hydrated with this amount of water. With a new soap, I tend to hydrate until I go past the proper amount of water, then will dial it back some the next time I load my brush. Some soaps seem to be inherently slicker than others, and even after what seems to be adequate hydration, don't provide ideal slickness. However, provided I'm using a quality soap, my motto is hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

I find that the lighter the pressure the closer the shave.

Originally Posted by BobH

Getting the lather right is so important as it can make a sharp blade act like it is dull. I think nobody gets it right 100% of the time either.
Bob

Originally Posted by evnpar

Excellent point, Bob. Slickness of lather, essential for shaving with a straight, is largely dependent upon adequate hydration of the lather. I think many people tend to not hydrate their lather enough.

This is the one thing that I am finding makes a noticeable difference. I watched the video Bob posted, and am paying more attention to some of the issues presented, and I'm seeing good improvements. I never expected that I'd get the biggest gains by improving my lather.

Originally Posted by Montgomery

I never expected that I'd get the biggest gains by improving my lather.

Surprised the hell out me when it finally dawned on me too.

Bob

Just thought I'd check in. Making steady progress, I can't notice the difference shave to shave, but over the weeks I'm getting steadily better. I've settled on my Joseph Elliot with a smiling edge, and I'm using Arko shaving soap. Nothing fancy, but we are getting there.

That's good..!!

Just like in life. We have to crawl, before we can walk, and sometime later we can run. Only gets better with time, my friend. Keep at it, you'll find your niche.

Smilers are my favorite neck shavers! Good to hear of your progress!

Good news. It takes time and one day you will notice a very close shave and nothing really left of the beard. And you have full comfort on your face. Time makes it happen.

A certain percentage of folks find this useful. I have been doing it this way for years and it works well for me.


https://straightrazorpalace.com/shav...ml#post1028898