Thread: Newbies and shavettes.

I brought a cheap shavette off eBay the other day, I've never tried one and didn't want to spend big bucks on some thing I just wanted to try out. It came in the post this morning and I'm pleasantly surprised. For a cheap shavette it preformed very well, baby smooth in 3 passes with no cuts and no razor burn.

This got me to thinking, I realise that most of us at SRP are purists but why aren't we suggesting these to newbies before they spend considerably more on a proper straight. They give you more or less the same experience as a straight razor without the need to strop and with disposable blades they are always sharp and shave ready. I paid £5 for mine and it came with 10 double edge blades, that'll give you 20 shaves if you only have 1 shave per side, that should be more than enough for newbies to decide if its for them or not.

Am I alone in thinking this?

Originally Posted by Ouiska

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Am I alone in thinking this?

No, you're not alone. My first razor was a Feather AC that gave a fantastic shave but it wasn't until I got a Dovo that I really noticed the difference. When I mentored a friend of mine I let him use a DE and then the Feather so he could focus on the correct angle and how to hold the razor while learning how to pull the skin correctly. Once he learned using the Feather it was time to move to a traditional straight razor and learn stropping. At this point he already knew how to shave but needed to learn stropping.

IMO, the baby steps really helped him enjoy shaving rather than looking at it like a daunting task of the learning curve. I ended up giving him the Feather AC as a birthday gift but before he could get more serious with a traditional straight razor he moved to California. :-/

A Feather AC was my first razor after giving up on cartridges too.
A fine shaving tool.
It took away a few of the variables when starting out, making the learning curve perhaps a bit more manageable.
Yet, if I were to do it all over again, I would have gone straight to a proper straight razor.
The shaves are just that much smoother and more comfortable IMHO that is.

Originally Posted by Ouiska

I brought a cheap shavette off eBay the other day, I've never tried one and didn't want to spend big bucks on some thing I just wanted to try out. It came in the post this morning and I'm pleasantly surprised. For a cheap shavette it preformed very well, baby smooth in 3 passes with no cuts and no razor burn.

This got me to thinking, I realise that most of us at SRP are purists but why aren't we suggesting these to newbies before they spend considerably more on a proper straight. They give you more or less the same experience as a straight razor without the need to strop and with disposable blades they are always sharp and shave ready. I paid £5 for mine and it came with 10 double edge blades, that'll give you 20 shaves if you only have 1 shave per side, that should be more than enough for newbies to decide if its for them or not.

Am I alone in thinking this?

This is sometimes the case However, just like me we will all be assimilated anyway into the realm of shavedom with a sharp hunk o metal. I have seen the advice to try it out with a shavette, but most will go the route of a real straight or the higher-end feather artist.

I agree with all of the above, I prefer a real straight but for somebody new that is unsure about the whole experience a shavette is IMO the cheapest and easiest way to try it out. The most will end up buying a more expensive straight or shavette but if they don't it'll save them money. I just think it allows you to concentrate on the shave without the fear of mucking your razor up while stroping and generally trying to keep it sharp. I honestly wish I'd known about them when I started out.