Thread: Feather - probably not a great starter...

I'm not sure this has been mentioned already, and please forgive me if it has (I'm a bit tired and lazy tonight to read through the past 4 pages of replies...). One thing you have to realize with the Feather Razor is that the blade are VERY sharp. And that you might find that there is a LOT of razor burn after you use it....the reason beeing you are adding too much pressure when you shave and are removing a few layers of skin (aka, the burn). When I first tried one of these I was a little disappointed with the 'burn' but then held off on using it like a saftey razor, etc. Use minimal weight (just enough to bring down the razor), and you should have a baby smooth shave with little to no burn!.

The same applies to a 'regular' straight razor when you have a sharp edge....

Good Luck!

C utz

Originally Posted by C utz

I'm not sure this has been mentioned already, and please forgive me if it has (I'm a bit tired and lazy tonight to read through the past 4 pages of replies...). One thing you have to realize with the Feather Razor is that the blade are VERY sharp. And that you might find that there is a LOT of razor burn after you use it....the reason beeing you are adding too much pressure when you shave and are removing a few layers of skin (aka, the burn). When I first tried one of these I was a little disappointed with the 'burn' but then held off on using it like a saftey razor, etc. Use minimal weight (just enough to bring down the razor), and you should have a baby smooth shave with little to no burn!.

The same applies to a 'regular' straight razor when you have a sharp edge....

Good Luck!

C utz

Hi Buddy! It might have been said before, but it sure is worth repeating. Some very experienced shavers have also had weepers when first trying Feathers. This is another sign of too much pressure.

If you've seen NO PRESSURE mentioned with respect to DEs, you need to multiply by 10 here. The Feather AC and DE blades require a new level of delicacy. Just remember that the first time you use it- just the weight of the razor will shave you so smoothly that you won't believe you've remove anything until you touch your face.

Also, and I suggest that you start by putting the blade flat against your face and raising the spine until you get cutting action. A flatter angle will avoid skin shaving as well.

I know everyone's situation is different and so please take this with as much salt as you want. I've been shaving with a feather for about six weeks now and when I return to a DE, I can not get as good of a shave as with the feather. So I am addicted to straight (feather) shaving. My problem has been not having enough pressure when I shave with the feather. The blade would glide along nicely until I hit a particuarlly tough patch of beard and then the blade would bounce causing nicks and burn. I have found that there has to be some pressure there to get the razor to work properly. So everytime I read about "no pressure," I wonder how much pressure in reality that means is applied to the blade as it is going through the shaving motion.

- Jeremy

The "no pressure" thing works better if you have a normal-to-light beard, those of us with heavy beards have to use some pressure. I found the feather to pull somewhat on my beard, and I also found that I had to use some pressure to get a good shave from it, though this causes other problems. I suspect that the blade mounting system which relies on simple spring pressure to hold the blade in place is probably not secure enough when the blade hits serious resistance which also leads to nicks and scrapes. The light weight of the feather also means there's not much momentum to help keep the razor from bogging down in the tough patches. Many of us here with tough beards lean towards heavier razors which seems to help with this.

I use more pressure with the straight than with the feather, and also use stiff razors to minimize blade flex, and get better results than I did with the feather. Some of the guys here love the feather though, different strokes for different folks and all that.

How much of a difference is there between a feather and a shavette?

Randy, I speed read through a lot of the posts between here and the start. Remembering your question about nicks and cuts with a straight came back in mind. I shave with mostly a straight razor and about once or twice a week with a DE. For some strange reason I nick or cut myself more with the DE than with the straight. It might be because I am in more of a hurry and think I can whiz through the shave process. Either way I still think the straight razor gives you the best shave.

Glen

Originally Posted by Billy

How much of a difference is there between a feather and a shavette?

I was wondering the same thing. I bought a feather AC in my mad RAD phase, but not a shavette.

I'm guessing a shavette with a feather DE blade comparable to a feather AC. The difference (I'm still guessing/infering) being a shavette is less balanced in the hand and has a shorter blade. They do have those longer DE type blades that go in shavettes. I'm unclear if the Feather company makes them, or if they can be boughten cheaply like DE Feathers can be boughten on cottonblossem.

If anyone has some comments to fill in the gaps or debunk anything I might have said, I'd like to hear it.