Thread: Shavette

Do the shavettes work as well as a properly honed straight? I ask because I am still working on learning to hone my straight. Sometimes I am able to get it quite usable...then I'll strop it a couple of times and it will be crap again. I just need practice I know...
Anyway, i prefer to shave with the straight now and was wondering if those replaceable blade jobs are any better than cartridge razors like the Gilette fusion (the one I use).

Any suggestions?

Anyone who is willing to send me a shave ready razor at no cost feel free!

I shaved with a shavette for the first 3 weeks or so I took up straight shaving. I think it would be a good enough way for you to continue to practice your technique, saw me ok. Though you might be served better by buying a cheap shave ready straight off here.

Certainly better than a fusion.

Shavettes are very handy if you want a razor that is always sharp without stropping, honing etc.. the downside is that they are very unforgiving.. I can get great, comfortable BBS shaves from my shavette but I like the real straights better..I wrote an article on the Shavette in the wiki which should answer all your questions..

Shavette - Straight Razor Place Wiki

I really like my Shavette.. it was my first intro to straight razor shaving and I used it quite often when I learned how to hone (test shave didnt work-> back to the shavette and try another round of honing) Now I use it a lot less now I can hone my own razors and I'm getting pretty quick with stropping and I have a nice DE that does the trick as well... Without a doubt I would pick the shavette before I would let any cartridge touch my face again.


Maarten

To split a hair here. I understand a shavette to be a razor that uses half a DE blade. What about Mr. C or Monsouir Charles razors. Those use injectors. Are the shaves the same?

I dont yet have a straight...still waiting to save some money...

but have been using a shavette for about 6 months...i still use my de once in a while too...

I would say the shavette is great and will teach you to be light with the razor and also teach you how to properly lather and prep...

I would suggest getting a de if you want another razor...it is nice to use for a quick shave and also great for traveling or for those days when your straight may not be ready....

I love my Merkur HD with red personnas

Good for starters and seeing if you enjoy the feel of staight edge shaving along with the prep work, but when you move to a fixed straight, it may not "feel" as sharp and you may have to take 3x passes (wtg, xtg, atg) to get the same results. Plus, you have to take in all the learning curve of keeping it sharp.

I will still keep my Feather knockoff and use it occasionally as I have come to appreciate its non forgiving performance and that nasty point comes in handy for little detail work.

I am begining to understand why a person has more than one straight and I will likely be up to 3 by the end of 2009.

Pabster

Originally Posted by Pabster

Good for starters and seeing if you enjoy the feel of staight edge shaving along with the prep work, but when you move to a fixed straight, it may not "feel" as sharp and you may have to take 3x passes (wtg, xtg, atg) to get the same results. Plus, you have to take in all the learning curve of keeping it sharp.

I will still keep my Feather knockoff and use it occasionally as I have come to appreciate its non forgiving performance and that nasty point comes in handy for little detail work.

I am begining to understand why a person has more than one straight and I will likely be up to 3 by the end of 2009.

Pabster

No need for multiple passes, a once over approach will work fine if the razor is sharp and you have the technique down.

Originally Posted by fccexpert

No need for multiple passes, a once over approach will work fine if the razor is sharp and you have the technique down.

same here....

I sharp my razors to be able to do one pass shave.....my skin can't support more than one pass.....

Shavette... I did start with it as well, but now looking back at it, I wish I didn't.
It is very very unforgiving! I have never cut myself with a regular str8. My shavette cut me twice. Even now, when I shave with it, I know I have to be twice as careful.
What shavette is great for - is to use it without a blade to learn hands movement and blade positions around your face.

I am proficient at honing and shaving, but I bought a Feather to see how they are. They are very sharp and very unforgiving. That's not a bad thing. You quickly learn a light touch, and sloppy handling is corrected out of necessity. I see they make a blade that's guarded, kind of lilke a DE, but I wanted as close to the real thing as I could get. It shaves very well, and I enjoy using it. I'll take it traveling for the convenience.