A friend of mine recently told me J Hooking worked really well for shaving his neck. We both have similar growth patterns on the neck (growth occurs side to side on lower half of the neck) and tend to have hair more on the curly side. I was thinking of giving it a shot but wanted to hear how it worked for others. Who has tried the J Hook technique on the neck and have seen great results? By great results I mean less irritation and few razor bumps than shaving ATG, WTG or other popular method.
Your thoughts on J Hooking
- Thread starter djw19
- Start date
Of all the instruction I've seen and read on J hooking, I've never understood what it's supposed to accomplish for you. I've only ever heard it classified as an "advanced" technique. I've read many posts on people cutting or irritating their skin trying to do it. Given the poor results and an uncertain real goal, I've not pursued it.
I actually tried J-hooking my neck in one area this morning. Seemed to work very nicely, but I didn't wan't to get carried away because I had an early meeting and didn't want to show up bloody. I've J-hooked my cheeks before, but always been scared of the neck.
I'll practice more when I won't mind running the risk of a bloody neck.
I'll practice more when I won't mind running the risk of a bloody neck.
From this morning's experiment, I can say that I started going WTG and then when I was hitting a different direction of growth I hooked, so instead of going straight down N to S and ATG, I went N to SW and more XTG. I'm not sure if the fact that the razor is already in motion and has some momentum helps there, but I know if I try to start from a dead stop in that spot, I have to mess with blade angle and the first few millimeters of the pass always feel bad. I still need to practice to see if it was a fluke, though.
I J hook to touch up my trouble spots--mostly my jawline and part of the chin. For my neck, I only do 2 passes--the DRUL-RULD method (Right-down, left-up; right-up, left-down). I highly recommend trying J Hooking though. I go XTG and ATG for it
I'm a big fan of the technique, especially on my neck. There was a time when I couldn't help but touch-up my neck in certain places with some short 100% ATG strokes. J-hooking prevents me from having to do this by giving me some ATG action when I go XTG, reducing the effective number of passes and thereby reducing irritation.
At least that's my theory. It works well for me.
At least that's my theory. It works well for me.
I J-Hook every shave. It's the best technique for me to get a smooth shave without stubble under my jawline.
I haven't got the technique down yet, or it just doesn't work well for me 
Short buffing strokes on my final pass and touch up do well for my beard though.
Short buffing strokes on my final pass and touch up do well for my beard though.
I J-hook one small area on the right side of my neck ... this area has been a trouble-spot for the 35 years I've been shaving, and no combo of blades, razors, soaps, creams or technique has ever been able to get it smooth.
The Slanthammer+Feather comes the closest to getting this area in 2 passes, but even then, its iffy.
I J-Hook that spot with my other razors, sometimes I can get it, sometimes not.
The Slanthammer+Feather comes the closest to getting this area in 2 passes, but even then, its iffy.
I J-Hook that spot with my other razors, sometimes I can get it, sometimes not.
as a result of reading this thread, I will try it tomorrow morning when I shave and let you know how it worked for me...I never really have experimented with it or tried to incorporate it into my normal routine, so I'll see how it goes...surely it's like all things, YMMV...
I always j-hook on the final pass on the neck. It was the only technique I found that worked for that area.
I do this for one spot on the right side of my neck under the jawline. It's been a chronic trouble spot and J-hooking takes care of it very well, even with several strokes.
J-hooking is simply another way to relieve mechanical stresses involved in cutting hair.
Let me see if I can explain:
Imagine using a cleaver to chop through an onion. Putting the cleaver on top of the onion and pushing straight down requires a LOT of force and will result in some tearing, leaving your cut a bit rough. This type of cut is quite inefficient in that it takes a lot of force to wedge through the hair. It also leaves you with a rougher edge at the cut line because the act of cleaving may cause tearing instead of cutting.
By contrast, if you move the blade in two directions (down + forward/backward), it requires far less energy, is less stressful on the edge, and leaves you with a smoother cut. This is why you see chef's cutting produce while moving the knife in two directions instead of chopping straight down through it. For the purposes of shaving, this also happens to be the easiest way to cut yourself. All it takes is to go a little bit more forward than down and you're bleeding.
A second way to relieve stresses involved in the cutting process is to angle the blade out of perpendicular and then move in one direction (down). This is very similar to what a Slant accomplishes. The amount of mechanical stress relieved using this method is less pronounced, but it's still FAR superior to chopping straight through the hair and there is less risk of cutting yourself this way.
A third way to slice is by twisting the blade (as you do when J-hooking). The blade edge will meet the hair head on when using this motion, but the angle of the blade with respect to the hair will change as the blade proceeds through the hair. This change in angle is akin to resting a cleaver on top of an onion and rocking it back and forth slightly. It will require less force than pushing the blade straight down through the onion, but more force than either of the above examples.
For the purpose of shaving, this also has the advantage of changing the directionality of the blade across an area. We all know how much directionality matters when shaving (WTG vs XTG vs ATG can produce very different results). So a change in directionality can easily result in a closer cut.
Let me see if I can explain:
Imagine using a cleaver to chop through an onion. Putting the cleaver on top of the onion and pushing straight down requires a LOT of force and will result in some tearing, leaving your cut a bit rough. This type of cut is quite inefficient in that it takes a lot of force to wedge through the hair. It also leaves you with a rougher edge at the cut line because the act of cleaving may cause tearing instead of cutting.
By contrast, if you move the blade in two directions (down + forward/backward), it requires far less energy, is less stressful on the edge, and leaves you with a smoother cut. This is why you see chef's cutting produce while moving the knife in two directions instead of chopping straight down through it. For the purposes of shaving, this also happens to be the easiest way to cut yourself. All it takes is to go a little bit more forward than down and you're bleeding.
A second way to relieve stresses involved in the cutting process is to angle the blade out of perpendicular and then move in one direction (down). This is very similar to what a Slant accomplishes. The amount of mechanical stress relieved using this method is less pronounced, but it's still FAR superior to chopping straight through the hair and there is less risk of cutting yourself this way.
A third way to slice is by twisting the blade (as you do when J-hooking). The blade edge will meet the hair head on when using this motion, but the angle of the blade with respect to the hair will change as the blade proceeds through the hair. This change in angle is akin to resting a cleaver on top of an onion and rocking it back and forth slightly. It will require less force than pushing the blade straight down through the onion, but more force than either of the above examples.
For the purpose of shaving, this also has the advantage of changing the directionality of the blade across an area. We all know how much directionality matters when shaving (WTG vs XTG vs ATG can produce very different results). So a change in directionality can easily result in a closer cut.
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G
gone down south
Notice that when J-hooking one end of the blade moves across a lot more real estate than the other end. I think that this allows you to shave a smaller patch with each stroke, focusing on the specific part of your face that needs the attention without repeatedly going over adjacent parts that are already properly shaved. End result, less irritation.
Hey look, it's a new mod...and I actually agree with him.
J-hooking is a fine technique for the neck area. In fact I enjoy it on the cheeks as well.
OldSaw
The wife's investment
Love the J-hook. I use it on my neck below my jaw near the ears.
I have a similar growth pattern to the OP, and J-hooking works extremely well in that area of my neck. The same end result can be achieved with blade buffing, but it takes time and many passes, usually leading to some irritation.
If I can make one suggestion with J-hooking (the same also applies to the "Gillette slide"). Don't be timid... Go at it like it is second nature, making deliberate, fast strokes, but with little pressure. The minute that you start to be afraid of the razor or its motion, you're going to get bit. Just my $0.02
If I can make one suggestion with J-hooking (the same also applies to the "Gillette slide"). Don't be timid... Go at it like it is second nature, making deliberate, fast strokes, but with little pressure. The minute that you start to be afraid of the razor or its motion, you're going to get bit. Just my $0.02
So, is J-Hooking designed to attack areas where the direction of your beard growth changes or is it simply a way to gain cutting efficencies on the hairs by moving the direction of the blade (e.g. adding a sideways slicing motion to the directional cut) or is it effective for both?
