Straight Razor - Across the neck

[Sxot]

I have found positioning the razor for an across the neck pass near impossible. I kinda get the correct angle using the toe but it's very awkward and I am very scared of cutting myself doing it. So I went hunting for videos of a 3pass shave and in all the ones I viewed, NONE of the shavers went across the neck. All went N-S or/and then S-N. In the comments under geofatboys video someone called him out on it and his replay was "This works best for me". Others admitted the grain on the neck isn't in the direction you would expect for a down/up pass. Even if the grain was down, N-S give with, but the next three passes you would skip XTG and go straight to WTG.

So my question is;
1) Does anyone here go across the neck?
2) If not, do you do this because across is too hard, or some other reason.

 

[Reegs]

I find hard but also to much of a risk to take going across the neck, one little slip is all you need . I personally go N-S on first pass then S-N on second pass then if need be S-N again on third pass to touch up.So I pretty much shave like Geofatboy does on his 3 pass video, as it also works best for me.
Hope this helps

 

[Sxot]

Thanks for the comments.
What I tried today was to go 45° down, so NW->SE in an attempt to get closer to WTG which on one side get's me two XTG.

Funny, I was watching a 'Nick Shaves' video of his first straight shave. He is an Intern at a hospital so I assume a Doctor (do nurses do interns?) anyway he pauses when he get's to his neck and sighs. Then explains he can see his jugular pulsing "just under the skin. One cut and you're a gone". I seriously doubt it's that easy to accidentally cut that deep but I suppose he is risk adverse given his profession.

 

[Reegs]

Yeah I find that works as well doing the NW-SE, sometimes I will use that method on the second pass and then go S-N on the third. Here's a link to one of the YouTube videos from @razorguy's channel

. It is a part of the Mastro Livi school videos, around the 12 minute mark it shows how they shave the neck. This might help as well

 

[bald as]

I tried lining my body up with a compass, I take shaving very serious, and I had to lay on the floor to get the top of my head to point in a Northerly direction, may bathroom is very small so I was out in the passage as well and then I had to move around to have a true N/S attitude. My wife's only comment was "oh I see now, a N/S shave, now I understand."

Did I misunderstand?

 

[Mark1966]

I tried lining my body up with a compass, I take shaving very serious, and I had to lay on the floor to get the top of my head to point in a Northerly direction, may bathroom is very small so I was out in the passage as well and then I had to move around to have a true N/S attitude. My wife's only comment was "oh I see now, a N/S shave, now I understand."

Did I misunderstand?

I'm not sure but you are COMPLETELY off beam.

All proper DE shaves must be conducted facing towards the 'World Shaving Headquarters' as it is now known in Boston, Massachusetts. The general location of the first Gillette factory.

 

[Sxot]