Thread: A classy shavette and a first shavette shave

I have always considered adding a shavette to my straight razor collection, but never followed through. To me, they seemed the cheaper more modern cousin to the straight, only really useful for travelling and barber shop use due to their disposable blades. Plus, so many of them (feathers excluded) felt cheap and flimsy.

But I finally gave this one a shot today - the Antiga Barbearia de Bairro shavette, I believe made in Portugal.




First impressions are good - this is not your average shavette. It has some decent weight, the wooden scales are quality, nicely pinned, and the steel is nice and thick. Both have a lovely shape and feel in the hand. It's still smaller than the average straight, but it's in a different league to any other shavette I've picked up.

It even came in a lovely tin box - top marks for first impressions. (As an aside, I ordered some excellent El Melor soap at the same time, which I also recommend.)

Getting the blade in was a little tricky the first time, since there's no real insertion mechanism or moving parts - but now it seems simple. Just slide the metal holder off, pop the blade where it needs to go, and pop the holder back in place. I used half an astra platinum DE blade, which is what I use in my DE.

Now I have to say I expected the shave to feel much the same as a straight (despite people saying it doesn't) - and of course I was wrong, it's a very different experience. I certainly didn't get as close a shave as I expected, having heard that shavettes are harsher, more unforgiving. On the contrary, I found the shavette very gentle and smooth. It didn't get nearly as close as a straight around the chin - technique perhaps? Anyway, it was a pleasant experience and I can say that while it won't be replacing any of my straights anytime soon, I'll certainly be back again.

In summary, it still ain't a straight, but if you're looking for a quality shavette that looks nice, but at a lower cost than a feather artist, this may be the way to go.