Is it me or my razor?

I have a question. I dont know if its me, my technique or if my razor is at fault. I can shave my cheeks WTG and XTG OK! Not to bad. When i do my neck I was haveing a very herd time getting a clean shave. Even going ATG as best i could. I got qite a bit of razor burn. I did get some on my cheeks trying to touch up some stubborn areas. Is this normal if you go over some areas too much?
Is my razor sharp enough. I just bought a razor off of someone in the classifieds. He states it is very sharp. I should recieve it soon. My razor is a combo set from ruprazor. Golddollar i think.

How much pressure are you using putting the blade to skin? If any, your razor may not be sharp enough, but if you are doing OK on the cheeks but not the neck it may be a matter of blade angles. Also it may help to pay attention to the pattern of growth in the neck area, neck whiskers can grow in a variety of patterns making WTG, XTG and ATG very tricky.

I have the same problem. I've only been SR shaving for about 4 weeks now. The neck is definately the harded part for me to get close. I'm getting a little better though. I believe it is just technique since the razor performs well on my face.

Someone else here had a quote something like owning a straight razor doesn't make you a good shaver anymore than owning a basketball makes you Michael Jordan.

So I would say have patience, but please keep posting to let me, and others, know what works for you, because I'm sure we could all improve.

-Ty

Im trying not to put pressure when i do my neck. It sounds like its cutting some hair but it still feels rough. Is shorter stubble harder to cut than longer stubble?

I don't use much pressure.

There's another thread somewhere on here discussing whether or not it is harder to get a BBS shave if you shave everyday, versus shaving every other day, or less often. I've noticed, even with old mach 3 razors, that I can't get BBS if I shave everyday. My closest shaves are after two days of not shaving. Since I shave everyday for work I think I will do a WTG/XTG, WTG/XTG, XTG/ATG three day rotation.

-Ty

This was my second SR shave. My first was great. But the growth was a little longer.This was 2 days worth. I tought maybe it might be easier if i saved sooner but after today i might not think so. Maybe a bit longer is better. Too soon to tell. Will keep trying.

Do a real good prep before your next shave. I wash my face vigorously twice in the shower. Get mad at those whiskers. I really soap 'em up hard. Hot water. I twist up some thick lather too. I kind of crank my head away from the side I'm shaving to give it a bit more stretch when I do my neck. Stretching is also very important. You might use less of an angle too. IOW, the spine closer to the skin on the problem areas. Not touching the skin but maybe 20 degrees instead of 30.

I haven't been SR shaving for long, but I also struggle with the neck area. Since I have yet to nick myself down there, I am a bit more adventurous and have been trying different razor angle. It still takes me several passes, but gradually I have been getting it closer and closer. Still not 100% after about 15 shaves, but getting there. Keep at, it's definately a learned skill that only gets better as you do it more and more. Oh and I am actually just now managing to not nick the other parts of my face while I SR shave. I can only imagine what the people I work with are thinking. My wife gets a kick out of pointing out new nicks when I get them and laughing at me. Now is that love or is that love?

i would suggest making sure your skin is very taught. i find the skin a bit more saggy on the neck which causes the razor to bounce a bit. i also suggest letting your hair grow 3-4 days and looking at the grain.

Have you been stropping the razor before each shave? If so, are you doing it correctly and getting a nice draw or are you whipping the razor on the strop and rolling the edge? This is the MOST common thing that new guys do and they don't even realize that they dulled their honed razor before they even got to using it much. I am pretty sure this can be your issue because it was mine when I first started and I dulled three razors and didn't even know it until I learned to hone and I got them to shave myself.

Tugging on your neck when you're using a feather light touch is a sign that you're not stretching at all (PULL HARD!) or you're razor has be dulled. I also haven't seen you mention your prep and lather.

Also watch this video and look at the angles Jockeys uses in his shave. This will help you big time. Note he uses NO PRESSURe at all.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...-closeups.html

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Originally Posted by Disburden

Have you been stropping the razor before each shave? If so, are you doing it correctly and getting a nice draw or are you whipping the razor on the strop and rolling the edge? This is the MOST common thing that new guys do and they don't even realize that they dulled their honed razor before they even got to using it much. I am pretty sure this can be your issue because it was mine when I first started and I dulled three razors and didn't even know it until I learned to hone and I got them to shave myself.

Tugging on your neck when you're using a feather light touch is a sign that you're not stretching at all (PULL HARD!) or you're razor has be dulled. I also haven't seen you mention your prep and lather.

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Yes I have been stropping before and after. Im not sure if i did it right for the first shave. Before the second i ran it over the old barber hone i have. Just a few laps. Then i watched very carefully how i stropped. Very slow on the flip.
My prep is. First a hot shower wash beard good, I use a preshave oil( i guess it good stuff, have not noticed a big diff) I bought some shaving soap on ebay, glycerin base, I know i need a better brush. Im using a vintage ever-ready 100t brush.I soak it for 5 or more min. I lather up the side i will be shaving.

It seems like what you've been doing is okay (From what I can tell). I would seriously try to stretch the skin as tight as possible and make sure it's in a direction where the hairs will stand up and not lay flat. Angle is also tough to figure out, for the first month or two I had no idea I was shaving too shallow and just rubbing the razor on my face. I Then tried to increase the angle a lot and I got great shaves from it without irritation, I also needed a better edge than what I Got in the mail. What one guy honed and got a good shave with, may not be good for you at all and may not even give you a good shave no matter what. Almost all the edges I had received in the mail weren't sharp enough for my beard and I had to dial them in a little more to get them to where I needed them.


But like I said, sketch to the MAX in the right directions, then let us know what happened. Is you soap staying slick without being too wet or drying out?
Brushed don't matter, imo, I usually use a 3$ boar I got from CVS two years ago and I love that thing. My badgers that coat 200$ sit on the cabinet because I like the boar brush so much.

I can see that i need to pay closer attention to growth direction. Im sure now i did not stretch my skin enough. I will pay closer attention on my next shave. Thank you! I sure the new razor i should recieve soon will be sharper. Does a wedge shave differently than a full hollow? If so how?

This thread is great, because it's really helping me too. Like I said, I've been SR shaving for about 4 weeks now. Started with the cheeks, added the neck, and just now doing the whole face. I haven't nicked myself yet, but there's a first time for everything.

As far as stretching, it sounds like I am not stretching enough. I tilt my head about 45 degrees to the opposite side that I am shaving and then try and hold the skin above my jawline or below my neck but it sounds like I am doing two things wrong. Please let me know...

1) As my hair grows ear to chin I should probably be stretching in the lateral neck direction (chin to ear or vice versa)

2) I should probably stretch stronger than I am. I really am just holding the skin from moving not really yanking it.

I'll say that I really enjoy shaving now, whereas I used to hate it, I look forward to it every morning now. I'm glad that it's an art, which has to be practiced, and not just a science, that you can learn once, because it means I will get better!

Sorry about the long post.

I have stroped before each use about 15 times using only the weight of the razor. The nicks I get have been pretty much all in the same spot when I am trying to shave ATG. I think I just need to slow down a bit when I do this final shave.

For me to get really close shaves I have to really tug and stretch my skin in all kinds of wacky directions. Also stretching in the way that will make hairs stand, not lie flat, is a big deal and can change the whole shave extremely. Just plane old stretching any way isn't going to help a close shave, hair growth knowledge is important. To get areas under my jawline I have to stretch the skin up to where it's now on my cheeks to shave that area well.

Let me know how things go when you shave with an enhanced amount of stretching.

KenRups razors do come shave ready so for the sake of this discussion lets discount the razor being at fault.

If you're going to go ATG, you need to have a very light touch and flatten the angle out slightly as well.

Personally, I cant go ATG. I've tried it and it ruins my face so I stopped doing it. I now use a mix of skin stretching and WTG & XTG passes and this gets me BBS. I try and do everything in one pass and going XTG from the start helps this.

It may be that you've rolled your edge whilst stropping and thats why you're getting razor burn. A touch up of the razor on a hone will put that right if it is a problem.

You also need to make sure that your prep is good as well, with a good lather and that you stretch the skin correctly.

Take 15 minutes one day to feel which way the hairs on your skin grow and try to do as much as you can XTG right from the start. As I said, I do this, and I get a good shave with no irritation.

Good luck!

I would not be so fast to discount the razor. When I first started I had a great sharp razor for the first shave however after I stropped it the second shave wasn't too good. I had rolled the edge.

I will say that the neck and chin are your most difficult areas. The hair on the neck can grow in several different directions causing you to have to work a bit harder.

I shave most days one pass WTG however if I want that BBS shave I will go ATG after and it is super smooth.

I find the secret to be sharp razor, good prep and taunt skin.

Thank you! I will be shaving tonight with all your tips. I also recieved my new razor from the classifieds. It is very sharp. We shall see. I will let you know how it goes.

I definately rolled my razor within the second week, and then got really bad irritation, and no close shaves. Once this was fixed my shaves improved, with no irritation, but I still have a heck of the time on my neck.

How sharp is sharp enough? I've read all the sharpness tests on SRP, but my razor has never passed the HHT. Should I keep sharpening it, or send it to someone to sharpen it before I continue shaving with it? Perhaps this is why my neck doesn't come out good. I should mention I can get my cheeks BBS, but it takes many different passes. One WTG leaves my skin like sandpaper.

Well I shaved. This razor is sharper. I was able to get a very nice shave on my cheek's. Also my neck on 1 side. The strange thing is it is on my week side. I also notice if i watered down my lather a little for my neck the razor would glid better. Still rough on one side, many passes later it was much better.

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Originally Posted by nicknbleeding

Well I shaved. This razor is sharper. I was able to get a very nice shave on my cheek's. Also my neck on 1 side. The strange thing is it is on my week side. I also notice if i watered down my lather a little for my neck the razor would glid better. Still rough on one side, many passes later it was much better.

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It seems that you're improving and the shave was much better, good job! Now it's a good time to point out and reinforce the point that things aren't going to be perfect or even very good for a few months now. Mastering angle on those little parts of your face is what makes the big differences a long with edge maintenance and stropping mastery. Definitely seems like the razor is sharp and more than shave ready for your needs. Keep it up and be patient, enjoy the process over the short term results you'll get as a beginner.

Once again, good job!

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Originally Posted by RichZ

I would not be so fast to discount the razor. When I first started I had a great sharp razor for the first shave however after I stropped it the second shave wasn't too good. I had rolled the edge.

I will say that the neck and chin are your most difficult areas. The hair on the neck can grow in several different directions causing you to have to work a bit harder.

I shave most days one pass WTG however if I want that BBS shave I will go ATG after and it is super smooth.

I find the secret to be sharp razor, good prep and taunt skin.

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What he and all the others said plus ..
plus work your way into the hard places with an inexpensive
single blade plastic throw away.
Shave the easy parts of your face with the SR and get comfortable with
stropping and holding the blade.
It is a skill and takes practice.

While you are at it "map your face". I have some difficult
changes of direction and cross grain diagonal NE and NW
strokes (not with or against) is the only shave direction that
works for me.

More on my "braille" method some other day.