Thread: Shavette sharpness vs a regular SR?

Hello Gents,

I have had a couple of 5/8 Dovo's that were professionally sharpened and I've been doing ok with them. But I recently picked up a cheap Dovo shavette from amazon.

Wow, what a difference! The shavette was so much sharper/keener/smoother than my rfeshly honemeister'ed SR.

Is it possible to ever get a SR as sharp as a shavette? If not a 5/8 Dovo, is there a different brand or model thats more suited to shavette-like sharpness?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by DanClaiborne

Is it possible to ever get a SR as sharp as a shavette?

Thanks!

Short answer-YES

Originally Posted by Steel

Short answer-YES

Long answer- noooo

Just playing. Depends on the steel whether it can maintain that acute of an edge.

My experience with a shavette is about the passes - shavette does as good as a straight on first pass, but terrible on against the grain pass. I like BBS, so I prefer straight.

before i shave with Etoile, i thought like you, i got a France Razor on Ebay, Etolie, and honed it yesterday and shaved 4 days beard with it, sharp like a new blade, so i think a quality of Razor is a big issue.

I am really curious about this too, as i started off with a shavette that my gf bought for me, and i feel like every time that i put a new blade on i barely touch my face and i get all cut up. i am definitely looking to buy a straight, just trying to find one to start out with

Originally Posted by DanClaiborne

Hello Gents,

I have had a couple of 5/8 Dovo's that were professionally sharpened and I've been doing ok with them. But I recently picked up a cheap Dovo shavette from amazon.

Wow, what a difference! The shavette was so much sharper/keener/smoother than my rfeshly honemeister'ed SR.

Is it possible to ever get a SR as sharp as a shavette? If not a 5/8 Dovo, is there a different brand or model thats more suited to shavette-like sharpness?

Thanks!

Sometimes the issue is in the users mainteneance & stropping skills.
Tho not all razors are created equal it is certainly possible to achieve optimal sharpness.

I believe that DE of Feather AC blades will be sharper than what you can achieve by properly honing a straight razor, which is still plenty of sharp.

As sharpness is only one of the variables determining the closeness of a shave, this does not necessarily mean that DE or replaceable blade straight razor shaves will be closer.


For all practical purposes, I ran a test yesterday, performing the last ATG pass on one half of my face with a Feather AC razor (which uses what is generally considered the sharpest available blades), and on the other side of my face the last ATG pass with my recently honed straight.


On both sides of my face I had an exceptionally good and smooth shave that latest equally long.

Originally Posted by jemmo

so i think a quality of Razor is a big issue.

ok, so which brand or model of SR is most likely to be of good enough quality to achieve a shavette level of sharpness/keenness/smoothnes?

I am starting to wonder if there is something better out there than Dovo. I am be no means an expert at honing/stropping, but after two Dovo's, prepped by two different highly regarded honemeisters, neither could hold a candle to the shavette.

I am willing to pay more for a razor, but its not possible to tell from the ads if the higher prices actually get you a better quality steel, or just fancier scales and embossing.

Any ideas? Thanks

Almost any vintage razor will take the edge you want, possibly focusing on the full hollows . There's really no secret razor that gets crazy sharp.