Shave direction

[gte343v]

I generally shave three passes on the face:

1. With the grain (down the cheek)
2. Against grain (Up the cheek)
3. Cross the grain (ear to nose)

For my neck and under jaw area i do only two passes

1. With the grain (down the Neck -jaw to neck)
2. Against grain (Neck to jaw)

I want to go cross the grain on the neck- when i run my fingers left to right under my jaw i feel stubble. Does anyone shave in that direct with a SR? Im finding it challenging at that angle.

 

[silverlifter]

Best I can do is a diagonal pass S>N starting at the shoulder and ending just under the chin; that is still mostly XTG, but it does seem to be the most effective way I have found of getting the stubble growing from my adam's apple back and slightly down. I also have deep neck hollows, that makes it more challenging.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I generally shave three passes on the face:

1. With the grain (down the cheek)
2. Against grain (Up the cheek)
3. Cross the grain (ear to nose)

For my neck and under jaw area i do only two passes

1. With the grain (down the Neck -jaw to neck)
2. Against grain (Neck to jaw)

I want to go cross the grain on the neck- when i run my fingers left to right under my jaw i feel stubble. Does anyone shave in that direct with a SR? Im finding it challenging at that angle.

Yes, it's challenging. Depending on how loose your skin is you can stretch quite a bit of your neck skin upward over the jawbone and shave it like you would your cheek. You still have to manage the lower parts of course. Best I can do is angle the blade in a way that doesn't snag things and then move it in the sideways direction (or turn my head slowly while holding the blade still). Your cutting motion won't be perpendicular to the edge in other words.

My neck hairs grow mostly sideways and lie flat so this is the only way I can get close there. And, there are 3 or 4 hairs in one neck hollow that I simply can't hit ATG with a straight so I have a disposable at hand to swipe them off. They're quite poky so I definitely feel them if I miss them.

 

[rbscebu]

Best I can do is a diagonal pass S>N starting at the shoulder and ending just under the chin; that is still mostly XTG, but it does seem to be the most effective way I have found of getting the stubble growing from my adam's apple back and slightly down. I also have deep neck hollows, that makes it more challenging.

I have a very similar neck grain pattern on my neck and neck hollows. I surprised myself this morning shaving with a Bengall Spanish point SR. Not sure why but it gave me a very good finish on my normally troublesome neck area.

​

Maybe my concentration was more acute.

 

[RumpleBearskin]

No way for me to do "jugular-to-adams-apple". Instead, I do another WTG (jawline-to-collar-bone) pass, but using the opposite hand as my first pass. This seems to give me enough of a different angle of approach that sets up well for a final ATG pass that leaves me BBS.

 

[Slash McCoy]

The sharper your razor, the less it matters. I often go straight in with S to N on the neck, for instance, up to the jawline and chin. When I first started, I had to follow a more orthodox routine, but I have always had to modify my shave directions a bit due to facial topography. IOW, sometimes exactly WTG or exactly XTG or exactly ATG just isn't gonna be a thing. And my beard does grow in many different directions, like most of us here. Also, these days I only do a single pass, and the shave is quite good enough for me. Three passes just seems kind of ridiculous when just one will do, at least to me. While the video below does not start from a typical amount of growth to shave off, the shave itself is pretty normal for me. Well, except for the lather. I kind of went bananas with the lather because I was whacking off a lot of whiskers here.

Kids, don't try that at home with a normal dull razor.

 

[TSENG]

For the neck position, I keep my head down and use the XTG method.
WTG>XTG>ATG.

 

[H Brad Boonshaft]

It all depend on the direction of the beard growth, what your skin can tolerate and the keenness of your razor.

I do a WTG first pass to remove the bulk of the beard and 2 ATG passes to shave close. My neck ATG is more like a 45 degree pass, no stretching.

Here also quality soap and creams can make a difference, but nothing can make up for a razor that is not keen. Honing and stropping are king.

 

[steveclarkus]

I get a good enough shave with one pass but usually make a quick full face touch up in the opposite direction.

 

[Steve56]

‘Every which way but loose’ is OK.

 

[Rusty Blade]

I may be the odd man out here. I believe if you do good prep, have a sharp razor, properly honed and stropped...and if you go slow and take your time a single pass with give an excellent shave. Learn you beard growth direction and go with the flow.

 

[prabhav3069]

Yes, I agree the fact that cross the grain on the neck is little difficult. I also feel little discomfort.