Thread: I'm keeping the beard!

I'm looking into straight razors for a few reasons:

1) Obviously way cooler than any other way of removing facial hair.
2) I love tools and any kind of gear (my other activities are rock climbing, archery, cycling, and I am pursuing a PhD in biology...it's nothing but cool equipment!)
3) If it really does provide a closer shave, then I'm in. I've had more than one lady comment on scratchiness even when it looks okay.


Here's the catch though...I have a beard and intend to keep it for the foreseeable future. Everyone says to start with the sideburns and cheek...that constitutes a large part of my beard!

Does anyone have some tips for starting out shaving just my neck?

One suggestion would be to just shave the neck area, I suppose...In all seriousness, go for it, just do the same as people have suggested and do a North to South pass on your neck instead of on one side of the face. I shave around a goatee everyday and for keeping a nice shape to a goatee (and a beard too I suppose) you can't go past a straight. I can define the edges, get into those funny little places around the mouth where only a few stray whiskers grow and shave them without harm to any other part of my goatee. Just go for it, mate. You'll have much success if you take it slow and careful and only move forward when you feel comfortable.


Mick

or you could even do like those tattooers that start out on fruit.. either way.. just shave the hairs you don't want and leave the ones you do.. no matter how bad the first shaves are.. they get better.

Good news
The words from my Barber in 1981 "Glen if yer gonna keep that crap on your face, let's at least get it straight"
"Want straight lines learn to use a Straight Razor"

I did !!!

Bad news

The bad angles that we have to use to get those straight lines are rather hard on the edges, so cutting less hair doesn't mean you get longer lasting edges

You are going to need to learn to use a spike point and you are going to need stupid sharp edges, so think extreme hollow grinds...


YMMV of course, but this is what I have learned...


Welcome to SRP let me know if I can help in anyway with shaving with a beard tips...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Good news
The words from my Barber in 1981 "Glen if yer gonna keep that crap on your face, let's at least get it straight"
"Want straight lines learn to use a Straight Razor"

I did !!!

Bad news

The bad angles that we have to use to get those straight lines are rather hard on the edges, so cutting less hair doesn't mean you get longer lasting edges

You are going to need to learn to use a spike point and you are going to need stupid sharp edges, so think extreme hollow grinds...


YMMV of course, but this is what I have learned...


Welcome to SRP let me know if I can help in anyway with shaving with a beard tips...

Thanks for the tips, I was leaning away from a round toe anyway...not for a go0d reason, I just think they look dumb.

I was looking at this razor in the classifieds, any thoughts?

Joseph Rodgers & Sons 11/16 Square Point L@@K - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

I hear that Rodgers are good blades and, again not a good reason here, but this one is really "sharp" looking (pun way intended).

You may find you end up with a goatee.
The shaving becomes addictive and you'll want to do more than just your neck.

I keep a "Hollywoodian" and a str8 is definately needed to keep those sides and corners perfectly straight. I used to have a Fusion and even with the puny single back blade I couldn't make perfect lines.

I find that I can keep my neck relatively clean for up to 3 days after a good shave, and my checks stay clean for up to 2 days. It's definately worth the time to shave with a str8, you won't be disappointed!

Here's a pic from when I used to keep my beard longer down my neck :-)

I have tried to grow a beard few years ago..im 31 now...I have a heavy coarse n sensitive skin...I recalled me wanting to scratch my face off with my fingers..;-)..I feel im not genetically designed for a beard even if I trim it few times a week..a goat tee also drove me mostly nuts too...hmm

pcdad

Originally Posted by pcdad

I have tried to grow a beard few years ago..im 31 now...I have a heavy coarse n sensitive skin...I recalled me wanting to scratch my face off with my fingers..;-)..I feel im not genetically designed for a beard even if I trim it few times a week..a goat tee also drove me mostly nuts too...hmm

pcdad

I also have soft, easily irritated skin (mine's partly due to mild rosacea) and a wiry beard as you do, so I'm familiar with the discomfort. I've worn a full but "groomed" beard since I was 18 (40 years next week), and honestly - it's a bit more work to keep right than a full shave or just a moustache but I prefer it. I have shaved a few times during those years and kept smooth-faced for a couple of months - and when it first starts growing back I at first feel grubby, then itchy, then grubby again. A good shampoo/conditioner on the fledgling beard helps at this stage. Then I appear, to myself, at least, like I just crawled out of a dumpster until the thinner places catch up and I can shape it properly, and at that point it feels natural again. I'd add that unless I shave my neck every day (all the way around, I don't leave the back for the barber) I still feel grubby, but a neck and upper cheek shave with nice, crisp edges and careful shaping and scissoring of stray hairs makes me a lot better groomed than a beardless guy with a 5 o'clock shadow. I may be just a little bit vain about it though. Nawww.

As far as edging is concerned, the spike point and super-sharp edge advice is spot on. If you're like Gallagher the comic and I, one hand works great and the other ain't fer shit, so you may find that you tend to blind yourself when shaving the offhand cheek if you're the least bit farsighted, especially with wider razors. When I started with a straight I had inherited a nice little 4/8 from my grand-uncle, and I liked the narrow blade - in fact, I need to find another soon as the skinny blade works better for me than the 11/16 I have now. I also prefer the 4/8 for that tight curve where neck meets jowl, as that's where I mark my lower boundary of beard. I can do it with a wider blade but I'd rather not shave against-the-grain (south to north) in an inside curve. I do it anyway, but not when I have hiccups.

You may as well get ready to have to "start over" occasionally, or at least to feel grubby until your beardline fills itself in again. You will gradually encroach if you insist on that crisp, neat line. Some guys start over by shaving completely (I can almost hear my wife yelling now, "NOT THE MOUSTACHE!"), others just put up with looking like they're out of blades until things catch up. I prefer the look of the former as it quickly conveys intent to grow a new beard to observers, but I usually choose the latter, as I don't like going through the dirty - itchy - grubby stages again.

One final point - on my cheeks I like a fairly thin lather and I wipe off the excess so I can easily see the beardline. As soon as the lather starts I use it for that purpose, then finish whipping it into a full lather for the neck. It means that I use a little bit more water (or, less soap) than is ideal at first, but it's easy to pause and crank it up into something more cushioning for the rest of the shave.

I hope one of the Straight Razor Mavens who live here will chime in with an improvement in technique to solve that "self-blinding" problem that doesn't involve using the off-side hand.

I rekon once you started with a straight its only a matter of time an you'll loose the beard due to wantin more real estate to shave on ..hehe ! goodluck

Originally Posted by Bred

I'm looking into straight razors for a few reasons:

1) Obviously way cooler than any other way of removing facial hair.
2) I love tools and any kind of gear (my other activities are rock climbing, archery, cycling, and I am pursuing a PhD in biology...it's nothing but cool equipment!)
3) If it really does provide a closer shave, then I'm in. I've had more than one lady comment on scratchiness even when it looks okay.


Here's the catch though...I have a beard and intend to keep it for the foreseeable future. Everyone says to start with the sideburns and cheek...that constitutes a large part of my beard!

Does anyone have some tips for starting out shaving just my neck?