Thread: The best of the best

Haven't tried a Feather; it's out of my price-range for the moment, but I may be willing to try it down the line.

Leave it to the Japanese to make the best of something

I agree, feather is just the one who set the bar. I've handled dovo and other brands, and imo, they are all far too flimsy. Feather are solid. Dependable. My artist club RG is my dedicated travel razor because of the convenience and the fact that they don't care about moisture and humidity (which is important in hotel bathrooms).

Not coincidentally, feather also sets the bar for quality and sharpness of the removable blades.

My Kimchee Kamisori is no Feather, to be sure but it does use the same blade and blade retention design. It too is head and shoulders above the lighter shavettes that use half a double edge blade. Not near as squirrely (you've got to give it a good reason to draw blood) and feels like a "real" straight. FWIW, I doubt there's $100 worth of difference between the CJB (Kimchee Kamisori) and a Feather.

It would be great if the feather razors took normal DE blades rather than inserts

Originally Posted by danialq

It would be great if the feather razors took normal DE blades rather than inserts

Not sure what you mean by inserts. The AC blades fit directly into the razors. The Dovo shavetts use an insert to hold the blade. Is this what you had in mind?

Any DE blades will not fit a feather razor. You need specific razor for the feather. That is what I meant.

Originally Posted by danialq

Any DE blades will not fit a feather razor. You need specific razor for the feather. That is what I meant.

The reason for that is because the Feather uses a specific 50mm blade which will last for (some say) in excess of 20 shaves. It replicates a straight in terms of the blade length whereas a cut down DE is just a cut down DE. You really cannot compare the likes of Feather, Kai and CJB with lightweight flimsy cut down (or whole) DE holders.

I have owned all the Feathers and a Kai Captain folding razor. The Feathers are by far the top of the class. You get what you pay for. The Kai Captain is a good alternative to the Feather DX but doesn't have the quality. I just got a Feather DX folding razor as a present and after using it I sold my Kai Captain. There is no one close to the DX.

The first shavette I used was given to me by my barber back in 1966 to trim my beard. I don't remember the name but it used a Shick injector blades that slide in the front of the razor. I learned how to straight razor shave with it. I recently donated it to the program for servicemen here at the SRP. Will use any injector blade. It sure isn't a Feather DX but it was a easy way to learn to straight shave. It was made of stainless steel.

Well, as far as I know... the Dovo "Shavette" is one of the original "shavette" style razors, using 1/2 of a DE blade. Typically, they are made from thin sheet metal, bent into a folding straight razor shape. Now there are all plastic shavettes which seem to be nothing more than a holder for a half DE blade. These were all, as far as I know, intended for barbers use in trimming the nape of the neck, beards. moustaches and such, but I have seen them used for a complete shave in some barber shops. The Weck replaceable blade razor was a "hair shaper" for hair styling, as are several models made by Feather.

Eventually Feather created 3 heavier cast metal model, and these would be the replaceable blade straight razors, intended for shaving a "mans" beard. I only distinguish that because there are straight razors used by Japanese women (I have a 12 pack where the blade and entire non-folding handle are disposable) for trimming around eyebrows and the like.

Today there is a larger selection of shaving razors, notably I see Kai is now available in NA. In Japan there were/are several Shick models too. The non-folding Japanese style Feather came after I started my hobby of wet shaving and I had already owned 2 different Feather razors of the folding kind when it arrived on our shores.

To call a Feather, Kai or even the Shick straight razor a "shavette" is really not appropriate as the Dovo "Shavette" was very cheaply made, though many have shaved with them, and some with success.

And for the record, yes, you can put a North American Shick single edge blade in a Feather for shaving. It's shorter than the Feather blade, but it does fit and you have to fiddle with it to get it in the right spot. Unfortunately the edge leaves a lot to be desired over the Feather brand blades and so it was more common to use Feather blades in a Shick razor by snapping off the excess length before putting it in the razor. Now we have the Cobra and other single edge razors that take the full Feather blade....

Those are my memories, and I admit that they may be faulty in some aspects. I am definitely NOT a Historian.


Regards

Christian aka

Kaptain "Fumblebrains" Zero