General questions about Shavettes

Hello,

I'm interested in trying out a shavette, that's why I would like to know about them a bit more before buying anything, specifically,

• What are the various colored inserts (black, red...)?
• What about the types (push in type)? Are there more of these? What's the difference?
• I know that Dovo and Parker cost about 20-30 bucks, are there more expensive ones with better quality than these?
• Do DE blades work as well as specifically made blades for shavettes?
• What are the main qualities to look into when buying a shavette (like scale weight)? Because I heard about some SS scales that are more weight balanced?
• What are the places to look into for some custom scales for a shavette?

Hi,
I'll give it a shot on some of your questions.

The different color inserts are for different blade types. Dovo shavettes have red for half a DE blade, black for special blades from Dovo and green for shaping blades, mostly used by barbers.

The best quality shavettes are arguably made by feather. They use special blades that are inserted from a cartridge.

I find DE blades to work well with my shavettes: Dovo and Sedef. The Sedef is my favorite and the simplest of all, I'd say.

Some don't like Dovo or Sedef shavettes, or other, because they are often very light. That is up to you. Some like more weighted ones, like Parker and similar.

If you wan't a brief overlook of what is on the market, visit ebay and look at the offers there.

Good Luck!
OldSalt

It's hard to go wrong with the comparatively new Feather SS folder. It uses the excellent Feather blades, seems much more forgiving than the previous "Artist" serices, and I still get my best shaves with them. As much as I like my conventional straights, if I had to choose just one, the Feather would be it.

One thing to realize is that the blade exposure can vary somewhat from brand to brand, when you are using 1/2 of a standard DE blade. I find that the Parker has slightly less blade exposure than the Dovo. This may make the Parker more appropriate for a beginner, as less chance of nicks and cuts.

Best,
Alan