Thread: Shavette

Hello
Has anybody else tried using a "shavette" or a replaceable blade straight razor.I recently purchased a Parker SR 1 replaceable blade straight razor and I am using Feather, Derby, and Merkur blades. I am getting a closer more comfortable shave than any of the traditional straight I own even after being honed to ready to shave by the honemeisters. I know that it is doing away with the daily stropping and other activity's involved that are enjoyable. Has anybody else tried these razors and what are your impressions?

Hi.
I started off with a Feather Artist Club, using all 4 different blades from feather. Still use it to shave my head.
I felt excactly like you do when it came to sharpness.
It felt like the Disposables where sharper and therefore better.
Everyone kept telling me that with practice I would learn to use the straight in a fashion that would yield the same, or even better results.
And guess what, the guys here where right
I'm still not sure about the whole sharpness thing, but there is no doubt that I get at least as close a shave off of the straights. And with less soreness and cuts.

I must confess to using a shavette quite a bit at the moment,especially during the week if I shave in the morning.
I am using a Sedef. Shavette that I got on eBay &deby single edge blades.
The shaves Iam getting with this set up are as good as any of my straights .
I just try to keep the touch as light as possible .
& I don't get any irritation . So the shavette is a permanent part of my rotation now .
Cheers Paul

I also am a fan of my shavette and use it quite regularly along with my traditional straights (purchased via SRP classifieds of course). I use the el cheapo variety blade holder that are used in many barber shops now. It would be nice to try a feather AC, but they are costly. I'm quite happy with the shave I get from using Derby blades. I can normally get 3 shaves out of each blade, so a box of 100 lasts me a loong time.

I started with a shavette.

I hacked my face up pretty well by using it.

If you don't want to spend big bucks on a "Dovo" or "Feather" shavette check out the Parker SR1 at Shop for Men's Shaving and Skincare Products - Geo F. Trumper Taylor of Old Bond Street Merkur Razors Proraso Savile Row Speick Tabac Musgo Real QED Soaps. It is made of stainless steel and very well built and they are selling it for $12.95. They also have several other products at good prices.

I use a Dovo shavette with a half-DE blade, and I get better shaves than my regular straights. I used to think that my stropping technique was not upto par, but it has improved greatly. Even if we remove stropping from the equation, with a freshly honed straight from a honemeister, I can come close to the results of the shavette, but have not been able to exceed it yet.

yeah i use the shavette, black holder with derby. i love it!!! i get a very close shave and its great when you really dont have time for maintaining a traditional straight razor, you travel a lot or you are just learning. for me this is only my frist year shaving with straight razors and im just about to get my first traditional straight razor. im glad i went with the shavette my first year so i could focus more on lathering and shaving techniques and now that im confident and never nick myself i feel like im ready to start learning how to strop. but i still have much love for my shavette!!

oh, also the shavette came with another holder that holds a short blade about half the size. i found it harder to shave with and got the black holder instead.

I have been a shavette user for around 6 years and then my shavette's handle/scale broke so I decided to give the straight razor a try. First, I heard from the guys that the shavette feels sharper than the straight razor but it's not. I got my razor a couple days ago and had a couple of shaves so far and I can tell you the following.

The guys were right, a shavette feels sharper than a straight but it is not because you need more pressure with a shavette. You think you need to keep pushing with the straight razor which is what you get used to with a shavette and it is hard at first to let it slide cause you're senses mislead you. You feel that it won't cut unless you push and you wrong. The second thing I noticed so far is that the angle on a shavette is more forgiving, I needed to learn to slope my blade at an almost 1 to 1.5 spines which I wasn't used to. Straight razor on the other hand needs more care, it requires a bit of time to keep it in shape.

Differences of the shave, I'm not an expert with the straight or the shavette either and I don't claim to be BUT the straight razor feels better. My skin feels like it is ready to be shaved right after a shave, I didn't used to have this with a shavette. I've tried ATG with the shavette and let's say it wasn't pretty in every way. I tried the ATG with the straight razor just as an experiment and I can say it feels good.

This is only my experience with both so far and it is not claimed to be the truth or an expert advice, I just hope it helps someone.

Originally Posted by Armageddon

I have been a shavette user for around 6 years and then my shavette's handle/scale broke so I decided to give the straight razor a try. First, I heard from the guys that the shavette feels sharper than the straight razor but it's not. I got my razor a couple days ago and had a couple of shaves so far and I can tell you the following.

The guys were right, a shavette feels sharper than a straight but it is not because you need more pressure with a shavette. You think you need to keep pushing with the straight razor which is what you get used to with a shavette and it is hard at first to let it slide cause you're senses mislead you. You feel that it won't cut unless you push and you wrong. The second thing I noticed so far is that the angle on a shavette is more forgiving, I needed to learn to slope my blade at an almost 1 to 1.5 spines which I wasn't used to. Straight razor on the other hand needs more care, it requires a bit of time to keep it in shape.

Differences of the shave, I'm not an expert with the straight or the shavette either and I don't claim to be BUT the straight razor feels better. My skin feels like it is ready to be shaved right after a shave, I didn't used to have this with a shavette. I've tried ATG with the shavette and let's say it wasn't pretty in every way. I tried the ATG with the straight razor just as an experiment and I can say it feels good.

This is only my experience with both so far and it is not claimed to be the truth or an expert advice, I just hope it helps someone.

I had more trouble learning the shavette than a straight razor until I got a Parker shavette earlier this year. Now I can do either one with equal facility. I agree with you when you say shaving with a straight feels better.

When I started two years ago, straight shaving was discouraged by a lot of people because the blade is less forgiving but given the money involved purchasing a strop and honing equipment, I would recommend starting off with a shavette for economic reasons. Make sure you have a passion for straight shaving before investing in the accessories required to maintain a true straight.