First shave with a shavette (sharing to help other noobs)

Hello!

So, i decided i was too poor to continue paying for mach 3 blades. This also means i am too poor to jump right into owning a straight. So i decided to buy a sanguine shavette instead, see how it worked out for me, and then move into straight razors in the future. My new toy came this afternoon, and i decided id give it a shot tonight.

This forum has been extremely helpful in the field of "Not Removing Large Portions of My Face," so i decided to give back and post what my first experience was like, hopefully to help other people who are starting out with a shavette.

First of all, i decided that i was just gonna start with my left cheek, and leave it at that. Seemed like a solid start. My next decision might make some people here consider me a raving lunatic; I decided not to use any form of shaving cream. all i used was hot water. My reasoning was that if i used shaving cream, id have a harder time seeing what i was doing, and i wanted to have a VERY good idea what it was i was doing. I dont necessarily recommend this to fellow newbies...but might as well throw it out there for consideration. I can put up with it because i went to a military school, and often left myself with only enough time to dry shave in the morning.

So, i started out. the razor pulled much more than my mach 3 at first; that was due either to my angle, or the fact that i was kinda cranked on adrenaline, since i was expecting to flay myself alive. That made me more sensitive to it, since i thought that every hair pull was a new orifice id just carved myself. Don't worry about it; go really slow, get used to it and move on.

I think out of everything i did, my best decision was that i would go really, really slowly, to really get a feel for it. the left cheek went great, so i moved to the right cheek, and promised myself i wouldnt touch my chin or neck. well, i failed on those counts...i did both, and my upper lip, which is still firmly attached to my face.

When i finished, it had taken me overall about 35 minutes. once im more comfortable, id be surprised if it took even half that time. I spent a whole lot of time making strokes, while carefully watching the razor to see how it reacted with my mug. More time was spent experimenting with skin stretching (which i often forgot to do. this should be remembered! it was much easier when i remembered) and figuring out the best way to hold the razor. I did a second pass against the grain (I believe you forum locals call that ATG?) where i felt comfortable, which was everywhere but on my chin.

It's easy to read other peoples accounts online, and be intimidated when they say "you will cut yourself." I'd say go ahead and be intimidated. It will keep you going slow, and that worked exceptionally well for me. Overall, being patient and using every stroke as a way to get a feel for the razor is the best advice i can give, as it is what i believe let me walk away intact. Also, i never forgot the most common advice i saw for shavettes: APPLY NO PRESSURE. That was a winning strategy.

So overall, I must say that it wasnt the closest shave ive ever had. but after all, it is my first time. and i have a feeling that as i get better, so will the shave. I only nicked myself 3 times; they were all very minor, and stopped bleeding in under a minute. Actually, bleeding isnt really the word for it. They were that minor.

So, to any fellow newbies thinking of starting out with a shavette, id say go for it. just go slow as you learn, and do not get overconfident. thats where my worst (yet still minor) nick came from. now you may be wondering, what about those other two nicks? yeah. do not move the blade horizontally. At all. The mach 3 allows some leeway with that, but the shavette wont. only up and down, staying focused will avoid that mishap. In retrospect, 2am may not have been the best time to try this out, haha. The first shave may not be your best, but it will probably be your most rewarding. there is a sense of accomplishment that comes with it.

And thanks to these forums for all the advice littered about! Fellow newbs: read as much of it as you can.

cya around

Wow beef,

i sure admire your courage.. you will find that a proper beard prep will surely make the shave more comfortable.... But other than that I think you did a great job!.. congratulations on your first step on the straight path..I think you will be fine..

Before my first shave I tried all the angles and so on without a blade in it.. that realy helped me a lot. the worst nicks where on my third shave when I was trying to speed things up a bit..

Oh.. I almost forgot:" course welcome to SRP!!"

Maarten

(I really like my shavette when I dont want to strop a razor)

Hi Beef,welcome to SRP.
Now that you know you can use a straight and not slice off body parts you can start the fun part of experimenting with various beard preps. And remember, you get better at it with each shave.

Beef, congrats on your first shavette shave. I too thought that a shavette would be the way to go before getting a str8. All that I can say is that the shavette was no where near the shave of the str8. If you get a good shave ready str8, I got mine from KenRup, at about $45, you will find a world of difference to the shavette. The str8 blade will be more forgiving and give you the satisfaction of using a str8. At least that was the case for me. I gave my shavette away after about 4 shaves and never regretted getting a str8. I now have 4. Oh no,What did I do?:thinking:

I too started with a shavette and it made my switch to a real straight pretty easy.. although when I was honing my razor and it didn't work out quite well I picked up the shavette again and found out that the shave was quite good actually.. so as your technique improves with the real straight it also improves for the shavette... without the honing and stropping..

Still like the real straights better but I wouldnt want to do without my shavette...

Maartten

Nice Job! I too started with the Shavette. It's now the razor I pass around to friends and relatives as I get them all addicted 1 by 1.

I'll tell you the sense of accomplishment doesn't go away. Before straights, I actually gave up shaving for a couple of years and just grew a beard because of how much I hated shaving. Now I look forward to it. Not just for the sense of accomplishment from doing something that is difficult, but because the ritual and experience has become a "doing something nice for myself" time.

Welcome, and keep it up!

Great post for fellow newbs, Beef. Well expressed. I can't say I like the idea of dry shaving though.......... this is a wet shaving forum after all. :D

thanks for the responses guys! and yes, no more of the dry shaving. i have an idea of how things are supposed to work so ive moved on from that stage. but i still get to the chin an have a moment of "what the deuce am i gonna do here?"

i have a question: about how many shaves can one expect from the average razor blade? i imagine it varies from razor to razor, and depending on beard thickness, etc.