Thread: East to west pass across the neck

I'm sure this has probably been asked before, I apologize in advance. Against the grain for me on my neck is east to west not south to north. My question how do you guys tackle that with a straight , I've been trying to modify my grip and angling the length of the razor on 45 degree degree to kind of get a diagonal cut it helps some but usually I have to run my safety razor over a few spots to get them mowed down the rest of the way. Curious to hear your responses. Thank you all in advance

Skin stretching is your friend here. You can manipulate your skin to suit your stroke but don't get too hung up on it, 45 degrees across the grain should suffice.

Originally Posted by markbignosekelly

Skin stretching is your friend here. You can manipulate your skin to suit your stroke but don't get too hung up on it, 45 degrees across the grain should suffice.

It's like no matter how much I stretch or try it's just never as close as it could be , like you said tho maybe I shouldn't be overly concerned with it either

It will come together over time. For me, my neck is the hardest part to shave, if my razor is not perfect I will bot get the perfect shave.

https://sharprazorpalace.com/shaving...ml#post1028898

I have the smashed wire brush hair growth, as well.
Thru trial n error I came up with what I call the X pass.




Ya just have to experiment till you find what works for you. But I'll say this...the older we get, the more skin stretching comes to play. Even more so for me. After loosing 100+ lbs.and having my rotten teeth pulled I was left with lots of loose skin, and a lot more contours in my face.

Maybe try a scything pass... CAREFULLY though. You can filet yourself if it's not done properly. That's what I have to do but it's an advanced technique.

I have the same “every which way but loose” problem with the grain on my neck. I can get BBS on some parts with a straight using my dominant hand and “close enough” if I two-hand it for other parts going in another direction.

If I want a really close shave, I use my Merkur slant DE and go in several different directions.

A few of hours later, it’s grown back enough that I can’t tell the difference.

I am jealous of anyone who can achieve a really close neck shave with a straight in two passes

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Maybe try a scything pass... CAREFULLY though. You can filet yourself if it's not done properly. That's what I have to do but it's an advanced technique.

Can you elaborate on what that is exactly?

Everybody has their own way of doing this thing, usually after trying a billion things to find out what REALLY doesn't work, and what's left is what sorta does.

To me, an extremely sharp razor is essential. I use a single pass shave, generally. I stretch the skin really tight and keep my shave angle very low, almost dragging the spine. As long as I stretch hard, and keep the angle low, I get a very comfortable shave and close enough for my purposes.

A perfect BBS is simply not needed, unless you are in military boot camp and your drill instructor likes to scrape his ID card over your face to test your shave. Especially on your neck, nobody notices.

The direction of the stroke doesn't have to be exactly WTG, XTG, ATG, whatevah. The sharper your razor is, and the better your stretching and shave angle and stroke technique, the less it matters, and conforming to precisely the correct direction is pretty much impossible in places. Just approximate WTG as close as you can, given the limitations on this imposed by your topography, and you will be okay. Sometimes my stroke ends up being almost exactly ATG in the interest of convenience.

As you will see in the video below, many factors can be ignored or discounted or compensated or compromised, as long as the razor is nice and sharp and you exercise firm control over those factors that you can easily adjust, such as pressure, stretching, and shave angle. You don't even need an expensive razor. A $15 ebay beater, if it can be honed properly, can deliver a great shave. A $20 Titan. A $4 Gold Dollar. And exactly following the classic instructions to go precisely WTG then XTG then ATG is not sacred dogma that you must follow to the letter to avoid the flames of shave hell.