Thanks for the incredible detail Bill!
A little late to reply, working weekend into today. Going to inline a few differences, as we have a few 30DCr's thinking about starting to straight/shavette shave, or maybe a little more thought for a few others.
Please note this is meant as more input, other options to try and/or add to your arsenal. We have a number of veterans (Keith, Joe, Bill, etc.) straight shavers here who all work through a shave in different ways.
Yes. Incredibly important for the neck and below the jawline for me, not so much above jawline.
I can't do the first sentence method very effectively. Tried numerous times. Sometimes it works..more often I nick myself.
Almost all arm action also. Wrist action usually starts a semi circle motion, which may lead to a slice if not careful. Cut resistance for me is key (see below).
This is complete opposite for my world. Every start of a stroke is a cutting motion, angle important, but slightly secondary. I can immediately feel if the angle is slightly off as cutting resistance (and adjust)...some razors (near wedge grinds) it's the actual blade bevel I can feel as it nears optimum cutting angle. For the angle, I use the protracted angle/spine width to judge blade angle landing, even if just 1mm above the land. If I land then try to move a blade (even a shavette loaded with a new Feather), the cut resistance is high, and the blade can skip, leading to cuts, landing nicks or weepers. Hopefully this makes sense, what I'm trying to make clear is that the blade always lands moving for me. Doesn't matter the soap, the prep, the blade sharpness. I've been told I have super thick hair shafts on top of my head, so it must translate over to the face as well. Very tough for me to land the razor, then start it moving. Think Grizzly Adams thick hair.
Alternating hands also. I'm most times a 3 pass shave, following with this routine... My 1st pass is all straight north to south all over. Most effective for (my) beard reduction without irritation. 2nd pass on cheeks is nose to ears, neck is cross grain (holding tool in use where blade mimics a slant), ears to center. The 3rd pass on the cheeks/upper lip is usually redundant, but the lower neck/jawline requires this pass for DFS+ or BBS. 3rd pass direction/style varies (I check progress after completing the 2nd). Most of my straights allow me to buff the 3rd pass, just like the 2nd for DFS+/BBS. Sometimes if that doesn't work, I'll go a 4th pass lower neck to jawline (sometimes buffing). That direction is usually fraught with irritation/razor burn, any razor, any blade, any soap, so I minimize it by optimizing reduction with every other option.
Yeah, always checking progress between passes, and constantly drying hands. The cross grain pass on the neck is easier with smaller blades, kamisoris, or smiling blades. My first mistake on it was the doozey 2 inch slice mentioned last week.
Hope this helps a little for others!
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