Thread: Better shave with shavette?

Newbie...I'll admit it.....but now the proud owner of a brand new Dovo 6/8 "Palisander" and a starter shavette.

It was supposed to come shave ready. I don't really know exactly how that is supposed to work. I can save with it fine. However I get a better and closer shave with my $20 shavette? Is that normal? Yes, I strop (albeit slowly) before use. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

G

Hi phlash,

Ok the Dovo's don't come truly shave ready, they say they do, but they will need some work to bring the edge to true shave ready. My last new Dovo had a bevel set but was not smooth or particularly sharp, it needed a passing over a 12k hone and pass over a pasted strop before a good stropping on leather. Then it was perfect

So your shavette will sure be shaving better at this stage.

If you're not familiar with keeping your straights edge, now would be a good time to find someone locally who can show you the ropes and bring it to shave ready for you. If you add your location to your profile I'm sure someone will pop up and help in your area.

Until then keep practicing with the shavette and Enjoy

Once your razor is brought to a good edge, and you have some experience with it, let us know how the two compare: straight vs shavette. "Compare and contrast", as they used to say on high school exams. It's a topic of much discussion on several forums and I'm always interested in another opinion.

Best,
Alan

The palisander is from thesuperiorshave.com, correct? If so, I would say that the razor would most definitely be shave ready. I received the same blade from there a while back and it has been on of my best shavers.

What I've gathered about the shavette vs. straight debate, which seems to have been a hot topic on this forum lately, is that shavettes are definitely sharper than a straight and can cut hairs at different angles as well. The angles you use to shave with a shavette are going to be a little different than that of a straight. In other words, you can get away with incorrect angles on a shavette because the sharpness if the blade helps compensate for this, whereas a straight the angles need to be more precise and consistent.

Hope this helps!

Hi all and thanks for the replies.

@kevenred - I've read of issues with Dovo's and a "semi" shave ready edge. Your reply continues that trend. I am prowling for a good go to for honing and such.

@cigar460 - I started with the shavette about three months ago....cut and notched the sh*t outta myself at first and thought this is going to kill me sooner rather than later........two months and almost 100 blades later it was much better. Then I picked up the Dovo......I was stoked! Tried it and I was like "meh, really? That's not so bad, maybe I just need to practice more." It does the job, but the shavette closeness spoiled me.

@chapman - Yes, that's were I got it. It's a great piece of work. Well balanced, feels good in the hand. In fact, I just ordered a Boker from him. I've had nothing but good experience dealing with him. He answers ALL inquires and is a very straight shooter. And, he has stuff really in stock and ready to ship. I don't doubt he got the item "shave ready" prior to sending it out. I'm sure with more practice, I'll figure out where the good approach and angle are with this one. After almost a month I just haven't found that yet.....

Thanks again everyone for the replies.

Forgot to mention...I now have a nice collection of soaps and creams I have tried...about the same across the board...although I am am loving the Bond Street sandlewood....

Ohh boy. When I started with a straight I had plenty of time with a shavette already. The shavette IHO is much more difficult to shave with without cuts and irritation. So when I switched (once I honed my blade to shave ready) I had no problem and got the same results with my straight with less effort BUT I am coming to see that most people that are new do NOT have this experience and have a hard time transitioning. For me it was easy but most people this is not the case. So others here will suggest you keep your angles lower with a straight and take your time keeping your pressure to a minimum.

Even though shavettes are awesome to use it's been a a few months since I have used mine because I get better shaves with my straights.

As far as sharpness between the two (straights and DE blades) look at glens post #3 here.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...ght-razor.html

@steel - thanks for the reply.....I'm reading the link you provided.....what I am finding is that I (especially on my neck) am coming down at an diagonal angle rather than straight. With the shavette, the blade handled it fine. With the straight, it wants straight down...no diagonal movement at all....

Yeah. Check out Kevinred's reply above. Great advice there.

To start str8 shaving my opinion is you can't find anything better than the Feather Straight with ProGuard blades. You have the best of both str8 and Shavette. You can learn the proper technique of straight shaving with out having to worry about the maintenance.