Thread: shavette shaves much better than straight razor (my experience)...what to do???

Hello everybody,

My first "real" thread here on this forum (just so you know). I bought my first straight razor 2 months ago and before i started shaving with it i have had some time shaving with the dovo shavette.

It seems to me that the shaving with the shavette is a 10 times better than shaving with the straight razor. The straight razor is'nt as combortable en when i shave myself with it if feels like the blade is skipping. It doesnt cut trough the hairs as my shavette does.

Now i'm asking myself: Does it have to do with the different way of using bot razors? Or is my straight razor nog sharp enough? Hope you guys can help me. Thanks alot!

Can you be sure your straight is optimaly honed?
If in doubt send it out to be proffesionaly honed.
I don't think you can compare a straight to a shavette, they have a different feel on the face.
I'll concede you can always know that a shavette is sharp and will give a close shave but a straight razor feels much smoother IMO.

I use a shavette in my rotation , and it gives very little to no feedback when compared to a regular straight , It could just be that your used to the feel of the shavette as opposed to that of the straight ..I love the shavettes they get a bit ofa poundin as a sis'es razor ..lol...or jus not a real mans straight but boy dont they just shave beautifuly once mastered .. good luck Im sure some more knowledgeable member will set ya right

It's really a simple issue here. If a shavette is shaving better than a straight either your straight is not shave ready or your skills are not shave ready.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

It's really a simple issue here. If a shavette is shaving better than a straight either your straight is not shave ready or your skills are not shave ready.

I agree but the one option you forget is that RazorStudent may just prefer shavettes

Whatever works best for youis the way to go.

Originally Posted by RazorStudent

Hello everybody,

My first "real" thread here on this forum (just so you know). I bought my first straight razor 2 months ago and before i started shaving with it i have had some time shaving with the dovo shavette.

It seems to me that the shaving with the shavette is a 10 times better than shaving with the straight razor. The straight razor is'nt as combortable en when i shave myself with it if feels like the blade is skipping. It doesnt cut trough the hairs as my shavette does.

Now i'm asking myself: Does it have to do with the different way of using bot razors? Or is my straight razor nog sharp enough? Hope you guys can help me. Thanks alot!

All faces are different.

A shavette with the right blade might be as good as it gets
especially since the blade might also have the advantage of
a Teflon coating (Teflon does help). In the limit it is steel
against whiskers.

But I doubt your straight is as sharp and well polished as it might be.

Since you have a shavette as a reference and also to shave with
keep after your str8 and keep working on it a little at a time. Shave
test it and if it is not up to expectations switch to the shavette.
I must admit that my Feather Artisan razor served this same purpose.

Honing and stropping take practice and also have their ups and downs
along the learning path so do not give up.

Tell us what hones you have and how you use them.

And yes sending your razor out to a professional is the fastest
way to get a fine edge to shave with.

As always give your full attention to "Latherin" steps.
A good lather makes any blade shave better.

FWIW --

If _my_ straight razor 'skips', I assume that it isn't sharp.

My test (works for me, may not work for you) is to try shaving my arm, with the edge of the blade about 1/8 - 1/4" above the skin. If it catches hairs and cuts them _in the air_, I'll shave with it.

As several other people have asked, in different ways:

. . . Why do you think your straight razor is sharp?

Charles

Thank you everybody for your posts. I have a few questions to maybe make things more clear!

Do the shavette and the straight razor have the same way of using (or almost?) Because with the shavette its no problem at all to have a good clean shave. And if i use the straight razor it feels like its "skipping".

I then assume that it's all about the sharpness of my blade. I didn't hone it, just took it a few times over the leather belt. I don't have any honing experience and here in Holland i don't know any "honing masters".

If using the shavette is verry different than using a straight razor the problem might be the shaving technique.

Any more toughts? Thanks!

I've never used a shavette but it does appear that your cutthroat may not be as sharp as it should be.
If you can get a good shave with a shavette, which I believe are less forgiving than a traditional cutthroat, then your technique is probably OK.