First Go With A Shavette!

I have taken a bit of a break from shaving with straights because of the cost and inconvenience of sending my razors out for honing. I also have not had the time or energy to properly develop my own honing skills.

So the Shavette is kind of the path of least resistance and, for this time of life, the best of both worlds. I still get to develop my straight razor shaving skills and have the convenience of a disposable.

And, WOW, what a great shave! Better than I expected...much better. Having spent some years shaving with a straight razor, the Shavette felt very natural and comfortable to use. I spent some time browsing some of the Shavette threads and suggestions. I went cheap (I usually do to start out with...for the better or, more often, the worse) and bought a 20 buck Parker SR1 Stainless steel. It felt a little cheap and there was a ding in the scales at the pin, so I was a bit apprehensive. But the blade went right down in the clamp and only showed about 1/8", and opened and closed just fine. The weight was a bit light and small in my hand but not too bad.

As I started my muscle memory took over and I had a really nice shave! I had a few weepers (which is typical for my beard) but no nicks. I also found that I had less trouble around my stubborn spots...jaw bone, mustache and soul patch. I am certainly hooked though I still intend to keep up with my collection of straight razors. I also have a number of antique store finds that need restoration. When the money and time come together, I will be ready. Until then...viva la Shavette!:tu

I have shavette that I got in PIF but have not had the nerve to try it out yet. Maybe one of these days I will try it. I would like to make some new scales for it but maybe should try out before I do that to see if I like or not.

I really like mine. It was a cheap one that my brother-in-law gave to me. I made a new handle for it and polished the metal parts. I say handle instead of scales because it is carved from one solid piece of wood. It's like a whole new razor now. The wood really helped with the weight, feel and balance.

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I made a new handle for it and polished the metal parts. I say handle instead of scales because it is carved from one solid piece of wood. It's like a whole new razor now. The wood really helped with the weight, feel and balance.

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Wow, that looks great. I have to say that the scales are really light and I wish they had more weight to them. But I've been shaving for about 10 days with it now and still doing pretty good. I was on vacation and my wife was in and out of the bathroom while I was shaving and...wouldn't you know it...my first cut! Not too bad, more of a bad scratch really.

The one downside of the shavette is that they're a lot less forgiving than a straight. Because my straight is out for honing, I've been using my shavette and it definitely takes some adjustment. I am getting much better shave though than I was getting as a shavette beginner and it's a very handy fall back given that I don't need a strop. I'm thinking the shavette will be a good travel razor given that I don't have to haul around the strop with it.

I've got the same SR1.
While new scales would be a vast cosmetic upgrade: I'm not sure if I would want heavy scales on it as I find that it balanced nicely for me as-is and the blade holder wasn't all that heavy on its own. I'm sure I could get accustomed to it.

My first 20 years shaving were almost exclusively spent using shavettes and i still do. They are efficient and inexpensive.

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I found that the angle when shaving with them is better if it is wider.