The Mongoose: ouch, ouch, ouch!

I'm hoping experienced fellows like SharpSpine or clint64, or anyone, may be able to chime in with some suggestions here:

I just finished my second shave with the Mongoose (with a Feather Pro), and if anything it was more troublesome than the first. I managed a half-dozen tiny weepers, and significant burn and irritation on my neck. As far as I knew I was being careful and using a light touch; I'm surprised to find the razor this unintuitive. To find the angle I'm starting with the angled surface of the 'Goose against my skin, then tilting down just slightly from there (like I would with an injector).

My go-to razors lately are my Wolfman or NEW SC with a Feather blade (no trouble there), or, recently, my E-2 and I-2 injectors with new Schick blades. Again, really no trouble.

Since I've liked the rigidity of the Wolfman, and the injectors, I figured the full Feather AC experience with the Mongoose would be good. But so far, it's painful, and I feel like the Wolfman with a Feather shaves me just as close with less trouble. Before I give up and return the razor (sad, though tempting since I do have the OneBlade arriving soon), any advice?

The stainless steel Mongoose is hefty so it could simply be too much pressure. Also, might I suggest hand stropping the blade to smooth the edge out. Other options would be to try a milder blade like the Kai Milds or even a guarded Feather Pro.

I'm liking the Kai milds in mine. I also had to watch the pressure. It's working great after having it less than two weeks and using it daily.

The stainless steel Mongoose is hefty so it could simply be too much pressure. Also, might I suggest hand stropping the blade to smooth the edge out. Other options would be to try a milder blade like the Kai Milds or even a guarded Feather Pro.

Brian offered excellent advise. You really have to have a super light touch with the Mongoose since it is so heavy. The Goose in many ways is very intuitive to use but does require just a bit different technique for me. I find that I get better shaves using a somewhat thinner and slicker lather than with a DE. Similarly, I use longer shaving strokes with the Mongoose than with a DE.

In the beginning I palm stropped the Feather Pro blades in order to smooth them out some. Once mastered I find the shave of the Mongoose/Feather Pro blade to be very similar to the my Wolfman OC/Feather. If you have Kai Mild blades I would suggest starting with these. Personally I found the Feather Guarded blades more harsh than the regular Feather.

The Goose is a deadly weapon I like using Kai Mild's and it works just fine. I also use a very light touch and lots of heavenly lather.

Thanks for the pointers, guys. I'll try an even lighter touch next time, possibly longer strokes, and since I have an AC-style blade sampler coming, I'll try a Kai Mild soon too. I'd like to be enjoying this razor, but if it ends up being a lot of trouble, and the OneBlade ends up being approachable and very effective, I'll likely decide the Mongoose isn't for me (especially with my Wolfman OC as backup). I'll give it a little more time before deciding, though.

I find that the Mongoose only really works for me if I use guarded blades. Anything else rips my skin apart. Feature Guards are my favorite, but Kai are perfectly acceptable as well. I've also found that a longer, thinner handle (I use an iKon SE) makes the razor easier to control and less likely to nick. I still bleed from it every so often, though.

I was thinking about trying the Mongoose but you guys are scaring me :p.

Barrister_N_Mann made a great point.  I tend to enjoy the Mongoose more with lighter handles.

Just had my third shave with the Mongoose. I ended up using a new Feather Pro since I was clumsily fiddling with the razor earlier and dropped the other one on the ground. Blah. But! This shave went better, for sure. Still not problem-free (a cluster of weepers along one side of my jaw, some roughness on part of my neck), but definitely an improvement. Here's what I focused on:

- a wetter lather, more what I hear straight razor shavers like
- stretching my skin as I would for a straight
- very light pressure
- longer strokes, as opposed to the short quick strokes I do with a DE

The longer strokes seemed to help the blade remain stable through tougher whiskers, whereas the quick-short strokes introduced more skipping and chatter. Seems that the combination of smooth stability but with a light touch is what I need to master here. As well as figuring out how to handle the part of my neck where the hair grows horizontally.

This definitely seems like one of those skills-required razors, as opposed to something forgiving and intuitive (which is what I'm expecting from the OneBlade).