honemeister edge vs shavette edge

I've been shaving on my own edges for about 5 months.


I sent out a few quality razors to a reputable honemeister because I wasn't satisfied with how far I could take an edge my own hones. I bought a shavette to shave with in the meantime. I was really impressed with the shave compared to what I was getting before with my own edge. I was looking forward to get my razors back to give me a shave much like the shavette edge has. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. I sent out 3 razors and each one is not getting me especially close to the shavette blade.

I shaved today on 4 days growth using the three razors along with the shavette. two of the honed blades were shaving with a bit of tug and one was especially rough. I cant imagine the technique for a shavette is drastically different than a standard straight. To be honest, I think I had these blades sharper on my stones. Maybe not as polished/smooth, but they shaved better.

Shouldn't these blades be on par with a shavette? or am I missing something?



Let a newb know what you think, Thanks

I am a very new to this forum. I haven't even shaved with a straight razor yet (It's on the way! :y).

Anyways, I looked into getting a feather disposable straight before I considered a regular straight and did find many posts mentioning the different technique needed. If I can remember correctly a conventional straight needs a bit more of an aggressive angle (spine farther from face). I remember seeing some posts that pertain to this issue although it is usually somebody trying to go from a shavette or feather to a conventional.

Also, from reading a ton of posts (I have practically been reading posts non-stop on here for days!!) I have realized the importance of a good quality stropping. Make sure you are using light pressure, holding the blade flat, a very taught strop, and that you are not rolling the edge of your blade. Most of the people on here do at least 20 (forward and back counts as 1). I have read that some do as many as 80 before shaving.

Sorry for the long post. I always wish posts were more specific because as a beginner I like too much information! :D

Mziter makes a god point in regard to the stropping. I find that this is one of the last things a newbee learns; stropping correctly. I am not saying this is so in your case. - but it could very well be one of the reasons this has happened to you.

I started my str8 razor shaving career with a Feather system. This, as you probably know is also a disposable straight razor blade system. I feel this helped me to become a better str8 razor shaver. When I eventually switched to regular str8s, it took a long while to master stropping correctly. - at least 3 to 4 months. :o My neighbor, Eli, took at least six months before he started stropping correctly and not ruining his edges. There is no doubt that the quality of our edges is not only dependent on the quality of the razor and the honing, but most certainly the quality of our stropping, also. This has a great effect on the quality of our shaves.

Do you feel the quality of your stropping is good enough to not deteriorate your edges at this stage of your development?

Steve

I haven't use a shavette type razors, but my understanding is that most people who have, still prefer regular straights as they find them smoother.
With me a smooth edge goes a long way, I'd take a smoother and duller edge any day to sharper and harsher (as long as the former can shave).

Don't expect the wrong things from a straight after using a shavette.
I made the mistake of expecting a straight to be sharper - it isn't the case.
The DE blades are coated with some kind of teflon I think and are very highly polished by machine. They are also extremely thin blades, which affects the way they conform to your face.
The straight however can be a much superior shave because of a variety of factors.
You can tailor a straight shave according to what you need - size of the razor, grit of honing, stropping, grind of the razor, types of passes.
When switching, don't think it is the same! You will need a different technique. With a shavette the blade will cut through hairs much more easily, but will also be less forgiving on your skin. With a straight you can take more, less aggressive passes to achieve a more comfortable shave.
With a shavette you can cut your hair at many angles(and your skin too!) but with a straight the angle of the razor can change the experience of the shave.
My biggest help was using pastes to polish the edge even more, using a toe leading stroke(almost diagonally) which helps to slice through the hair easier, and finding the razor to suit me(a large wedge.) I had no luck with hollow ground razors.
Hope that helps

+1 what Nick said. Once you gain enough experience with a quality straight you will have vastly more control of the quality of your shave.


Take care,
Richard

You don't want to be shaving 4 days growth off with a straight. Yes it can be done, but commonly it is uncomfortable. I'm not sure what even to say about your shave with, three freshly honed straights, I mean that's just strange, and I think it safe to say that your technique is responsible for this.

Correct me if I am mistaken, but I get the impression from your OP, that you have not yet had a shave ready straight from the beginning. You did your own honing? So a shavette would feel much superior, but a straight, most certainly can shave on par or even better than a machine produced edge.

I've been straight shaving about 9 months and am getting comfortable with honing, but there is still much improvement to be had. I have had experiences where I liked the shave off my honing, even though I am told I left microchips, than off a professional job. So it's not impossible that a technically inferior hone job is actually working better for you - there is a thread on "grail shaving" on SMF where they talk about the advantages of a jagged edge that catches hair against the grain better. I have no idea if that was the phenomenon in my case.

It's also possilbe you are wrecking your edge stropping, as the others say.

I also suspect therre is variation in what kind of edge different people prefer, so a perfect edge done by someone else may not be your cup of tea, and an imperfect shave suited to your skin and beard may be great.

Main thing is keep at it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loueedacat

I also suspect therre is variation in what kind of edge different people prefer, so a perfect edge done by someone else may not be your cup of tea, and an imperfect shave suited to your skin and beard may be great.

Main thing is keep at it.

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That's why Honemeisters have their work cut out for them; 1) honing a razor effectively. 2) what you said above. "Shave Ready" Shave ready for who? What kind of face to they have? How sensitive? What kind of whiskers (steel cables or sparse and fine)? And, will the end user be shaving correctly with that type of razor? "Shave Ready" is a subjective term to a significant degree. Hats off to the Honemeisters for dealing with the subjectivity.

Chris L

Swede,

I bought a shavette out of curiosity a while ago. While it's true the shavette is harsh compared to traditional straight, I feel that your straights should be as sharp as the shavette and yield the same results. I hone my blades until the results are the same. The bottom line for me is that you will only get full satisfaction when you hone your own blades.

It depends on who hones them. Just because one razor is sharper doesn't necessarily mean that it will shave better. In the case of shavettes, there are numerous kinds of DE blades to put in them, and there is no arguing that some are "better" than others. Are all of them deadly sharp? Of course they are.

I bet that you'll find that certain honemeister's work will feel better on your face than others. You might also pay attention to your stropping.

Something to be careful about is the expectations. Shavettes will tend to shave a little differently than regular straights. To me, a perfect shave with a straight is one where the blade glides down the lather, slicing hairs off without me noticing. With a shavette, that typically doesn't happen (depends on the blades)- it just feels different.

hi guys thanks for the input.
I've read just about every thread on this site, B&B, etc..and feel i've got a decent handle on wetshaving.

I know there's a lot of factors up in the air here.
I think my stropping is just fine.
I normally shave with a fair bit of growth.
I was just expecting the honemeister edges to be a shaving breakthrough
Ive learned that, for now, I get better shaves on my less refined edges vs a highly polished edge.
Shavettes work great but they are ugly and whiskers get caught between the blade and plastic holder.



I'll give one of these edges another shot tomorrow on 24 hrs growth.

*And the reason I shaved with 4 different razors was to compare the edges. I normally shave with one thank you.:D

I would recemmend keeping at it. There are so many variable that need to be right to get a good shave and it certainly doesn't happen overnight - you won't get immediate results - I think that is why it is so rewarding - people here who have learnt know how much practice it takes.
Give it another go - but if it doesn't feel right, come back here and ask more questions.