A small update.

I went on a trip over Easter with my family. They weren't too thrilled about the beard, but I stuck with it and ignored the comments, except one which was true. My dad noted my beard looked very scruffy and because we were going on a pretty important visit, he asked me to do something about it. The scruffy look came from the long hairs sticking out every which way. I hadn't trimmed my beard at all over the last 8 weeks and I figured it was time for some high maintenance other than the usual neckline and stache trim.

I wasn't quite sure how to do it and played it safe, putting the trimmer on high ( and run with the grain. This did not really have the desired effect so I turned the settings down some more and ran with the grain again. This got more of the long hairs, but I still wasn't happy with the look. I guess that it then finally struck me that as long as I go with the grain and the hairs are cooperating and laying down, I can set the trimmer to low and come out ok. I put it on 4-3 and crossed my fingers. I cut a lot more hairs, most from the neck, but the overall look stayed the same and I was pretty happy with the result. It now looks neater and less scraggly. Together with the haircut I've almost gotten to my desired look (short trimmed beard).

I'm still waiting for the cheeks to fill some more before I start carving/edging the beard out.

I'll put some more pictures up soon.