Thread: Is Shavette any good or best avoided?

Hi all!

This is my first post, I've been lurking and reading for several weeks, and enjoying the place a lot but now I could do with some product advice.

First some background. I started shaving with one of my fathers old Gillette DE razors (+ derby blades) a couple of months ago and it was a revelation; a shave as good or better as with Mach 3 in terms of closeness, but with less razor burn. I have thick stubble and pale skin so reducing the appearance of razor burn is challenging and an even more important factor for me than closeness.

But then I started thinking (like a lot of people here) that if DE shaving is good perhaps SE is better? And with that in mind I'm looking at buying a cheap "Shavette" as a way to find out what straight shaving is about without having to tackle the added complexities of blade maintenance. And so, on to the point of this thread;

The two Shavettes I'm looking at are a Japanscissors or a Dovo. The price of the Japanscissors shavette is certainly right, it's about £10 including postage and 10 extra blades!

But something tells me it's a bit too good of a bargain be genuine...


Ebay


Otherwise I'll probably buy the Dovo shavette instead;




Ebay



...opinions?

I think myself (and I own a Dovo Shavette) that none of that type shave in the same way as a real straight. They look a lot like a straight, but they're an entirely different animal. These things were made for barbers to use for thinning hair and for shaving around the ears and back of neck. (Each customer gets a new blade, so it's partly a sanitation concern.)

If they were easier to use than a real straight, they might be good to get started with. But for most people, it's much more difficult to use a shavette than a real straight, and even experienced straight shavers who almost never nick themselves will get nicks using a shavette.

But most importantly, it's just not the same experience as a real straight razor shave....

I can't tell you anything about the specific razor however what I can tell you is that a shavette is very sharp and unforgiving. Though it looks like a straight its not a straight and doesn't shave like one. If you use it you will not get the straight experience. That's not to say you won't get a great shave just that if its a straight you want get a straight. I know it seems easy to just get the shavette and dispense with all the other issues with straights but sometimes the easy way is not the best way. It all a matter of what your after. Many use shavettes and are very happy with them.

I started out with disposable straights and learned to straight shave with them. They still give me a good shave today and once in a while, I will use one in my rotation. I always take one of these disposable straights with me when I am traveling.

The blade starts out very sharp and they take a light touch to shave well. Lets just say, you will learn quickly with these as you will experience weepers and some scratch cuts that heal within 48 hours and you will likely experience a little more blood than you are use to seeing on your initial shaves. Cold water rinses cleaned these up quickly.

The big tools that made it easier for me was getting a decent badger brush, and decent "shaving soap" along with proper preparation and a good skin cream to use after the shave.

I wasn't very tactful in my first few times as I tried to shave the whole face every time out (WTG/XTG/ATG). I used my Mach 3 to clean up the first few shaves until I got wise and started reading SRP. Then my technique took off and all got better very quickly. The Mach 3 quickly got pushed aside as my straight shaving technique got better.

I truly learned how to shave with a straight edge before I started buying fixed straights and strops. As a result of learning with disposable straight blades, I tend to keep my fixed straights very sharp.

The blades dulls just a little bit each time you use it and you get use to using them at each sharpness level. I have a Diane 21, Dovo Shavette, and a Feather. Two of the three are marketed as "hair shapers", but I do get good BBS shaves with them as well.

No knock on any of them, they get the job done well and I adapted quickly to using them. When buddies want to try straight shaving, I lend out these along with a fresh blade. So they still come in handy and still get used although I have a nice rotation of very nice fixed straight blades.

Good Luck

Pabster

All these other guys have spoken to the ease and quality of the shave. I will tell you you will get a great shave with either of those products given practice.

My blade holder is similar to the first cheapest one you listed. It does a great job, I use it when I don't have the time for decent enough prep to make a real straight shave comfortable. If it is the type of blade holder that uses half a DE blade I would get it. It isn't worth it if you have to search out proprietary razor blades.

I did the shavette thing before trying out a straight. I ended up selling it after a couple of weeks. The shavette uses blades that are thinner and sharper than a straight. It's much more apt to cut you or give you razor burn. I've never cut myself with a straight nearly as much as I'd cut myself with the shavette.

First of all, a lot of barbers use disposable blade straights for the entire shave. If you want to get one, here's a link to the best deal you're going to get.
Amazon.com: 300 Derby Professional Single Edge Razor Blades & 1 Straight Razor: Health & Personal Care

I use my own shavettes at least twice a week at the moment as they can give you a very good shave without any irritation , BUT you must try to keep the angle shallow & your touch light ,Using one of these helped me to improve my own technique & my own shaves have improved as a result.
As with most things shave related I have more than one example so if you PM me with your home address I'll post a new unused one & a pack of blades off to you to get you started.
Welcome aboard mate , Paul

If you want to get into straights, leave the shavette alone, there is a lot of difference between the two and one of the great satisfactions of a straight is leaving the ongoing costs of the disposable blade behind.

a co worker of mine gave me a shavett after trying a old rust covered str8 that i had laying around . it gave me an idea of what a sharp blade feels like. and i still use it when traveling or for fnishing off a bbs shave. yes it is easyer to nick yourself with one of these but i feel it has givein me a very light touch and feel so that i hardly ever cut myself anymore.i say go for it. start slow ie. sides of the face, and slowly inlarge your confort zone untill you can do your whole face. my co worker has shaved with one of these for the last 20 years or more and can zipp off his barbedwire beard in under 2 mins ( something to watch)