Thread: Shavette as Sharpness Reference

Having 3 types of disposable straight razors and some very nice fixed straight razors I have been though a similiar process. My $20 disposable SR version shaves just as well as the $100 version. It is just not as fancy looking. The blades are both stainless steel and made in Japan which leads me to believe they could be made by the same manufacturer or similiar competitors.

It was good to have disposable straight blades to insure my shaving progress moved forward when learning. After ordering my first Dovo Tortoise (honed), I felt it shaved smoother after I gave is some laps on my pasted strop. Then I had to figure out how to maintain this to my comfort zone. I went through this process with my other fixed staight razors and each one is a little different - how many shaves before using the pasted strop was the biggest difference.

At first, I loved the disposables, but after some time and getting to understand the caring process of my fixed straight razors, I started to prefer them and appreciated their refinement for straight shaving.

Disposables always come in handy for traveling, loaning out to friends, or when you just want to skip the stropping business or don't want to lay out alot of money to get into Straight Shaving. I get about 5 good shaves out of each blade, so they last a while.

I get finer edges on the fixed staights when stropping than disposables. But disposables are thicker at the bevel creating a different pitch to the point. Also, they don't flex like my full hollows.

You are on the right track, just don't rush it or be too hard on yourself. I was not an overnight success. In fact, I had to use my Mach 3 several times to clean up the shave when I was learning then I started to use it less and less and the day came when I retired it. (about 15-20 shaves)

Pabster