Thread: Help with a Feather "No-Sharpen" Straight Razor

Brendon strikes again --- that's freaken hilarious . (A Stihl to boot)


Justin

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Did I hear my name?

I'm available to answer your questions, either via PM or here on the forum.

I really like my Feather, as it's helped me get through some problems I've been struggling with for a long time.

Most of the same rules that apply to traditional straights also apply to the Feather. Of course, there's no honing or stropping to worry about.

The no pressure thing is absolutely true, though. The blade is a bit heavier than a typical straight, so you almost need to hold its weight off your skin. One thing that helped me was imagining that I was tickling my face with a feather.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you'll probably want to use shallower angles, i.e., keep the spine of the blade closer to your face. With a regular straight, a good guideline is to keep the blade angled two spine widths from your face. With the Feather, you should probably start off with the blade almost flat against your face and work from there. Too steep of an angle and it'll give you a nice case of razor burn in a hurry.

Let us know what specific questions you have.

Good luck,
Josh

Have you ever tried the Dovo Shavette? If you have, what are your thoughts?

Originally Posted by salazch

Have you ever tried the Dovo Shavette? If you have, what are your thoughts?

Uhm, this thread is about 4 years old and all of the posters haven't been active for some time....

Holy thread bumpage batman!

Originally Posted by salazch

Have you ever tried the Dovo Shavette? If you have, what are your thoughts?

I can help you a little with your question because I am currently in a relationship with a Shavette, a sometimes stormy relationship, that may terminate at any point when I dump "her" and run off with a proper straight razor.

That hasn't happened yet, however, because after eleven shaves I'm just starting to get fairly good ones with the Shavette. I wish it was heavier so I could let the razor do the work like I can with a DE. It certainly is an inexpensive entry into straight shaving. However, I think it is possible to find Vintage straights in any flea market and get them "shave ready" for $20.

I'm fairly happy with it, I suppose. You will cut yourself at first, even if you are an experienced DE shaver. My first few shaves were bloodbaths, but I didn't mind that too much. My family thought it was a scream! I'm looking forward to moving on to proper straight razors, but am postponing that transition until I can be sure I've got my chops and technique down with the Shavette first.

Originally Posted by mbleck636

My parents gave me a Feather razor for Easter, I've contacted classicshaving.com and they've given me instructions on how to use it. They were very helpful and made it sound easy, but the razor looks intimidating. Has anyone dealt with them or used a feather?

I cut myself nearly every day with the feather for two years. The cuts were actually more iike weepers. In fairness, it was my first straight-type razor. I believe my grip on it was unbalanced, my pressure eccessive. Be that as may be, when I shifted to a DOVO straight (full hollow) a couple of months ago, my weepers have gone away. However, I've recently begun to cut myself a little. I'll have to re-examine my grip.

just wanted to mention that with my artist club.. i find that using just my index and thumb to hold the razor really helps with my light touch.. my middle finger stays on the tang to help with control and my ring and pinky just float.. i'm classy like that..

also.. corking the blades helps quite a bit.

Originally Posted by mbleck636

My parents gave me a Feather razor for Easter, I've contacted classicshaving.com and they've given me instructions on how to use it. They were very helpful and made it sound easy, but the razor looks intimidating. Has anyone dealt with them or used a feather?

The Feather open razor is a good razor. I used mine today.

Feather blades come in three styles (four if you add the guarded ones).
One or all may be to your liking the small changes in size
and edge exposure make them feel different.

They are as sharp as can be. Almost too sharp on the first day.
The second, third, fourth....your shave will get smoother then the
blade will get dull and be unpleasant like any dull blade.

Like any open blade razor use a very light touch with no sideways
slicing motion. Use short 1/4inch strokes to start.
If you imagine that you are wiping the lather <--(more on lather below)
from your face with a touch that is light as a feather you are on the
right track.

Learning to shave the entire face takes time and practice.
You can continue to use another blade to shave the difficult
bits... eventually you will not need to switch. If you are
switching from electric I recommend yellow handle BiC
tossables for the hard bits while learning.


Time for my LATHERING promo. Any bladed razor profits
from a good latherin. A brush and a decent shave
soap is so very important. Take a full three min preparing
your skin, whiskers and the lather. If the lather drys
pick up the brush drip some water on it and revisit your
face. If you are new to "latherin" take an inexpensive
puck of shave soap and play... too much soap, too little,
hot, cold splash drip. i.e. make both good and bad
lather so you can feel the difference.

It can help if you tell us what you shave with now....

As always have fun....

I haven't used my str8's for a while; no honing experience and cant afford the honing gear, and cant afford to send them in for honing. i'd love to try the feather AC, but again the cost. The blades seem more expensive than DE blades too.
I used a cheap barber's disposable str8 when i started and it was scary, way harsher than my dovo. I'm terrified to put the feather to my face, especially ATG like my dovo.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

The Feather open razor is a good razor. I used mine today.

Feather blades come in three styles (four if you add the guarded ones).
One or all may be to your liking the small changes in size
and edge exposure make them feel different.

They are as sharp as can be. Almost too sharp on the first day.
The second, third, fourth....your shave will get smoother then the
blade will get dull and be unpleasant like any dull blade.

Like any open blade razor use a very light touch with no sideways
slicing motion. Use short 1/4inch strokes to start.
If you imagine that you are wiping the lather <--(more on lather below)
from your face with a touch that is light as a feather you are on the
right track.

Learning to shave the entire face takes time and practice.
You can continue to use another blade to shave the difficult
bits... eventually you will not need to switch. If you are
switching from electric I recommend yellow handle BiC
tossables for the hard bits while learning.


Time for my LATHERING promo. Any bladed razor profits
from a good latherin. A brush and a decent shave
soap is so very important. Take a full three min preparing
your skin, whiskers and the lather. If the lather drys
pick up the brush drip some water on it and revisit your
face. If you are new to "latherin" take an inexpensive
puck of shave soap and play... too much soap, too little,
hot, cold splash drip. i.e. make both good and bad
lather so you can feel the difference.

It can help if you tell us what you shave with now....

As always have fun....

Thanks for the advise. I think I'm gonna take the plunge and get the Feather....well, as soon as I can afford it otherwise my wife will use it to make me into fish food.

Are there any other tamer blades that fit the Feather AC from another manufacturer? I have been too scared to try feather blades in my DE yet!
I figure that I'll just pretend that I'm learning how to use a straight razor all over again and take it really slow, just the cheeks WTG, just like a total noob for a couple weeks and clean up the reset of the shave with my DE.