The Mongoose: ouch, ouch, ouch!

Never had anything but smooth close shaves from my polished Mongoose. Really shines for me with a lighter handle.

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).

That's odd because I've read that it's better to use shorter strokes with an SE razor. You can't argue with the results though. I'd say keep doing whatever is working for you and you'll have the goose tamed in no time!

^ Yes, shorter strokes work better for me but I'm not going to argue with results. Keep at it!

It's funny: I use shorter strokes with my injectors to good effect, and I've seen a few people mention that shorter strokes work best with the OneBlade. But a few people recommended longer strokes with the Mongoose, so I figured I'd try. At least for me, what it seems to do is help me maintain the right light pressure while stabilizing the blade through any potential skipping or chatter. That said, short strokes work fine on the sides of my face. I'll keep experimenting with both and see which really works best. I do hope I master this razor, as it is an impressive piece of equipment (and the various AC-style blades have quite a good reputation).

The Feather Pro is my favorite blade I've tried in the 'Goose so I expect that you can get good results with it. I would suggest slowing down the shave and to really concentrate on each move that you make. It's a heavy and bulky razor that I do not find intuitive to shave with. Shaving with a DE or the Cobra Classic is a near mindless task for me but I find I really have to focus when I use the Mongoose.

Works way better in a lighter material like aluminum

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Well fellas, I'm very glad to report that this morning's shave with the Mongoose (still on the Feather Pro) was much, MUCH better than before. No irritation, only minor alum sting, one tiny weeper and then a small nick right below my nose which was entirely my fault.

What made the difference? This time I concentrated fully on a very, very light touch, especially in the areas that were problematic before: jawline, chin, neck, various angles and nooks. In these areas I let myself slow down, get a good angle and skin stretch, and approach each section carefully. Additionally, I gave myself permission to not chase BBS: I kept it to just one WTG pass on my neck, and two passes (WTG, XTG) on my face: none of the hybrid XTG-ATG cleverness I currently get away with with other razors.

A completely perfect shave? Well, no, but nice and close, and very smooth. And comfortable, all told. I predict it will keep getting better.

I can see why we reach for trickier tools like the Mongoose (or a straight razor for that matter): even though I could have achieved the same results with a familiar DE whipping around my face, it's truly gratifying to develop a new skill, to learn an instrument. I suspect my soon-to-arrive OneBlade will be a satisfying razor, but I doubt it will offer the gratification of a great shave with the Mongoose. Reason, I think, to hold on to both.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Onethinline, My best shave with my mongoose was with a feather provided blade but every blade I have used I have been successful with at getting a more comfortable shave than with any of my DE's. For me, a nice wet lather (not runny but not dry) and long strokes to mow down the stubble followed by short touch up strokes result in a great shave. I don't know if your mongoose is satin or polished finish but mine is polished and glides across the skin amazingly. Good luck and keep at it.

Like was mentioned before go easy with the pressure. All these type of SE blades are extremely sharp and thicker then DE blades. Also the blades are wider so you must adjust to that.

I never stretch my skin with any razor be DE or SE. I just never found the benefit of it. I got smaller cuts and weepers more often than not and unwelcome irritation.