SOTD - December 2021

[GAW9576]

Ha. My neck is definitely not the easy part.  And I have to shave right down to the collarbone. Also I do shave the back of my neck and shape the upper beard line on my cheeks as well so probably the same surface area as a face and front of the neck shave. Using two mirrors to shave the back of my neck can be tricky. Especially when I'm using the mid 1800s variety of unmentionable.

Yeah, I remember you saying about your neck being your trouble spot. Though, with the beard, do you think you put as much wear on a blade doing a pass vs. an average person shaving their entire face? Of course, who knows what average means anyway!  I'm to the point now with the Gem PTFE blades that I get to 10 shaves and then move on. Lately, I've been doing a two-pass shave, with the second pass including some touch ups.

It's been a really long time since I shaved my face but I remember it being fairly easy to shave except for my cleft chin. Also under my nose was a bit sensitive. The rest was fairly easy and usually in the DFS to BBS range. I would guess that if I added the rest of my face to the shave I would drop a few shaves off the life of the blade though.

[srqshaver]

My neck is definitely not the easy part.  And I have to shave right down to the collarbone.

Oof. I do not envy that. The skin is soft and thin down there. I used to have patches that went down pretty far but one autoimmune disease later and that hair has receded. Interestingly enough, the hair now stops above my Adam's apple making neck maintenance much easier. Not something I recommend but there have to be some upsides, right? 

[GAW9576]

Twelve uses is pretty great. How many do you normally get out of one of those blades? And do you find that the razor you use makes any difference in blade longevity?

I realized I only answered part of the question earlier. There do seem to be razors that are better for a fresh blade and others that do well with a worn/broken in blade. For instance if my skin is a bit overworked from previous shaves and I am starting a new blade I like a razor that is mild yet still efficient like the Gem Featherweight or Pushbutton. And if I really want to squeeze out an extra shave or two from a blade then something more like the Ever-Ready Shovel head or Gem MMOC that may be considered aggressive/extra efficiant might be a good choice. However I couldn't say weather using one razor over another for all the shaves with one blade would effect longevity since I almost always use a different razor each shave and my razor selection is extremely random.

[GAW9576]

My neck is definitely not the easy part.  And I have to shave right down to the collarbone.

Oof. I do not envy that. The skin is soft and thin down there. I used to have patches that went down pretty far but one autoimmune disease later and that hair has receded. Interestingly enough, the hair now stops above my Adam's apple making neck maintenance much easier. Not something I recommend but there have to be some upsides, right? 

Wow. Like you said not recommended but yes at least there is some benefit. When my beard is trimmed short I start just past my jaw bone (on the neck side/Inside if that makes sense ) and shave down to my collar bone. When I let my beard grow longer the starting line of the shave migrates closer and closer to my Adam's apple. Either way just above my Adam's apple to my collarbone gets shaved every time and the Adam's apple and to each side of it are the extra tricky spots. The skin each side of the Adam's ape is more sensitive and the hair there seems tougher. Not a great combination. Ad to that the fact that most of the hair there grows laying flat to the skin and it's difficult to get a good close shave there. And on top of all that a few of those difficult hairs are extra thick and darker than the rest making missed hair really visible. Sometimes even when I get thase hairs closely shaven they show under the skin making it difficult to tell weather I really got the shaved close enough. I'm really not trying to complain. I actually really enjoy shaving since finding vintage and antique razors as a hobby.

[Old Sarge]

Oof. I do not envy that. The skin is soft and thin down there. I used to have patches that went down pretty far but one autoimmune disease later and that hair has receded. Interestingly enough, the hair now stops above my Adam's apple making neck maintenance much easier. Not something I recommend but there have to be some upsides, right? 

Wow. Like you said not recommended but yes at least there is some benefit. When my beard is trimmed short I start just past my jaw bone (on the neck side/Inside if that makes sense ) and shave down to my collar bone. When I let my beard grow longer the starting line of the shave migrates closer and closer to my Adam's apple. Either way just above my Adam's apple to my collarbone gets shaved every time and the Adam's apple and to each side of it are the extra tricky spots. The skin each side of the Adam's ape is more sensitive and the hair there seems tougher. Not a great combination. Ad to that the fact that most of the hair there grows laying flat to the skin and it's difficult to get a good close shave there. And on top of all that a few of those difficult hairs are extra thick and darker than the rest making missed hair really visible. Sometimes even when I get thase hairs closely shaven they show under the skin making it difficult to tell weather I really got the shaved close enough. I'm really not trying to complain. I actually really enjoy shaving since finding vintage and antique razors as a hobby.

Regarding the hair laying flat to the skin, I too have a part of my neck where the hair does the same...growing south to north. On my first pass I shave from S to N going WTG on my neck. On the second pass on my neck, I used to go N to S as my neck seems to be able to handle ATG. But now, in that section where the whiskers lie ultra flat, I now hit it at a 45 degree angle first then touch up going N to S. I've yet to feel comfortable shaving XTG on the neck, either E to W or vice versa. The razor just doesn't seem to lie flat enough and make me feel jittery...if that makes any sense.

BTW...I don't see you as complaining at all. It's good to chat about how we shave and I'm glad Eric posed the question that triggered this discussion!

[Dave in KY]

Thursday DecemBOAR 16, 2021
Razor: RFB SHaDE
Blade: Half an Unmentionable
Brush: Spartan/Zenith Boar
Soap: Signature Soaps Hibernia
AS 1: Humphrey's Alcoholado Maravilla 70
AS 2: Nivea Deep
Fragrance: Terre D'Hermes
Consecutive Daily Shaves - # 1135

   

[Jayaruh]

Thursday's Shave


Cold Water Rinse
Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Soap
Jayaruh #424 Synthetic
47 Unmentionable Razor
Unmentionable Blade
CWR
Humphrey's Witch Hazel
Lustray Spice After Shave

The Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Soap lathered well with the Jayaruh #424 Synthetic Brush. Two passes and touch ups with the 47 Unmentionable Razor with an Unmentionable Blade gave me a close, comfortable shave. After a cold water rinse I finished off with Humphrey's Witch Hazel and Lustray Spice After Shave. I am clean, smooth, and refreshed...

[GAW9576]

Wow. Like you said not recommended but yes at least there is some benefit. When my beard is trimmed short I start just past my jaw bone (on the neck side/Inside if that makes sense ) and shave down to my collar bone. When I let my beard grow longer the starting line of the shave migrates closer and closer to my Adam's apple. Either way just above my Adam's apple to my collarbone gets shaved every time and the Adam's apple and to each side of it are the extra tricky spots. The skin each side of the Adam's ape is more sensitive and the hair there seems tougher. Not a great combination. Ad to that the fact that most of the hair there grows laying flat to the skin and it's difficult to get a good close shave there. And on top of all that a few of those difficult hairs are extra thick and darker than the rest making missed hair really visible. Sometimes even when I get thase hairs closely shaven they show under the skin making it difficult to tell weather I really got the shaved close enough. I'm really not trying to complain. I actually really enjoy shaving since finding vintage and antique razors as a hobby.

Regarding the hair laying flat to the skin, I too have a part of my neck where the hair does the same...growing south to north. On my first pass I shave from S to N going WTG on my neck. On the second pass on my neck, I used to go N to S as my neck seems to be able to handle ATG. But now, in that section where the whiskers lie ultra flat, I now hit it at a 45 degree angle first then touch up going N to S. I've yet to feel comfortable shaving XTG on the neck, either E to W or vice versa. The razor just doesn't seem to lie flat enough and make me feel jittery...if that makes any sense.

BTW...I don't see you as complaining at all. It's good to chat about how we shave and I'm glad Eric posed the question that triggered this discussion!

The razor not fitting flat in the hollows of the neck is an issue at times. I tend to move my head to one side or the other and twist a little hear and there contorting the skin to stretch the skin in those areas to a flatter spot. It helps a lot. But this is one of the main reasons I rarely use an AC razor.
I'm glad you could tell I wasn't trying to complain. I could just imagine that all that could have sounded like whining and complaining.

[Old Sarge]

Regarding the hair laying flat to the skin, I too have a part of my neck where the hair does the same...growing south to north. On my first pass I shave from S to N going WTG on my neck. On the second pass on my neck, I used to go N to S as my neck seems to be able to handle ATG. But now, in that section where the whiskers lie ultra flat, I now hit it at a 45 degree angle first then touch up going N to S. I've yet to feel comfortable shaving XTG on the neck, either E to W or vice versa. The razor just doesn't seem to lie flat enough and make me feel jittery...if that makes any sense.

BTW...I don't see you as complaining at all. It's good to chat about how we shave and I'm glad Eric posed the question that triggered this discussion!

The razor not fitting flat in the hollows of the neck is an issue at times. I tend to move my head to one side or the other and twist a little hear and there contorting the skin to stretch the skin in those areas to a flatter spot. It helps a lot. But this is one of the main reasons I rarely use an AC razor.
I'm glad you could tell I wasn't trying to complain. I could just imagine that all that could have sounded like whining and complaining.

We can learn so much from each other's struggles!

[GAW9576]

The razor not fitting flat in the hollows of the neck is an issue at times. I tend to move my head to one side or the other and twist a little hear and there contorting the skin to stretch the skin in those areas to a flatter spot. It helps a lot. But this is one of the main reasons I rarely use an AC razor.
I'm glad you could tell I wasn't trying to complain. I could just imagine that all that could have sounded like whining and complaining.

We can learn so much from each other's struggles!

The Adam's apple area is a whole different trick that's hard to describe.