Thread: Is it normal to have difficulties with Shavettes?

Hi. For about 6 months I had been using a Dovo classic straight razor. I had gotten to a point where I could quickly shave my whole face without cutting myself one time. So, I felt pretty good about myself. Recently, I decided to finally go get one of those professional straight razor shaves by a barber. Here where I live in Las Vegas, the health department forces the barbers to use disposable shavette razors. It was the first time I had ever been shaved with a shavette, and it was GREAT! The barber never cut me one time and it was absolutely the closet shave I have ever had. I was so satisfied with how great the shavette worked that I went to 'Art of Shaving' and purchased a Dovo Shavette. Now, the problems I am facing is that for some reason I am cutting myself every single time I use the shavette. When I switch back to my classic straight razor, I don't have any problems, but whenever I use the shavette I bleed like crazy. Is there a different type of technique that you need to use with a shavette compared to a classic straight razor?

I don't even know if i should answer this considering I have only shaved with a SR 3 times in my life, but still I think I have some descent guesses as to why there can be a difference between you and the barber. Technique I would guess is one thing. You say that the barber shaved you better han you did yourself when you used a classic SR. This doesn't sound like the information I have read, on the countrary I have read that the classic SR should do a better job than the shavette. This would make me guess that instead of trying to find the better shave buying a shavette, maybe you should work more on your technique as this is where you are lacking, and naturaly the barber will be better than you in this department since this is his job and have way more hours of practice than you possibly can get in 6 months.

The second thing that comes to my mind is the disposable razors. Could it be that he is using a better brand with sharper razors than the ones you have?

As I stated in the beginning of this post, this is just my guesses and I am a real rookie on the subject, but I still like to give my point of view

The Shavettes can be sharper (when new) than a straight that hasn't seen a touchup in a while. The blade seems to flex more and different blades perform differently. The Shavette is less forgiving and more susceptible to too much pressure. I still keep mine around, although it rarely sees any use now...

+1

remember any disposable blade is a manufactured piece, and is "machine sharp". 2 points abouts this is

1) it's very sharp indeed. but made with steel that is not meant to retain that edge.
2) Sharp in terms of QC in a manufacturing environment does not take into account such things as smoothness that matter to a straight shaver. as long as the edge is straight (defect free) and "sharp" (however it is the quantify that) it passes QC

with straights we have the luxury of tuning the edge, smoothing out scratch patterns as we progress up the grits, examining the edge much more intensively as we go. You should take a look at some of the microscope pics of bevels and edges thats on the forum and you'll see what i mean. Some guys here can get their bevels mirror smooth which translates into smoothness of edge where the planes meet

Also, a barber who has been shaving with straights will have much more experience than you, and will be able to compensate for the differences between a real straight and a shavette. weight is a factor as well. i have a rattler type grind that is still considerably heavier than a shavette. You may find that you are using much more pressure than with the dovo (unconciously) to compensate for this difference in "feel"

those shavette blades can deffinatly be sharper than a straight when they are brand new....just a thought, maby you just need to watch the pressure, let us know if you figure it out!

Worst cut I've ever had while shaving was while using a shavette. Angle of the blade plays huge part. I had the best luck when I kept the spine of the shavette against my skin. I don't recall seeing you say what kind of DE blades you were using with the shavette, but that's another piece of the puzzle. My shavette with half a Feather in it was too much for me to handle. With half a Dorco, it was much nicer.

Originally Posted by SuperMilkChan

Hi. For about 6 months I had been using a Dovo classic straight razor.

Now, the problems I am facing is that for some reason I am cutting myself every single time I use the shavette. When I switch back to my classic straight razor, I don't have any problems, but whenever I use the shavette I bleed like crazy. Is there a different type of technique that you need to use with a shavette compared to a classic straight razor?

It's very likely after 6 months your Dovo is no longer optimally sharp & you compensate by heavier pressure. That same pressure with a sharp blade of any kind = blood.
My advice is get your Dovo honed & lighten up on the pressure in general.

I started with the Dovo Shavette and found that when I moved up to a real straight that the shave became less difficult. Recently, however, I picked up the fairly new Feather DX in Stainless Steel (black handle) and that is the same basic style as a Shavette but much more forgiving. It requires zero pressure, and the shaves with it have been great. The structure of the blade holder creates an easier, less dramatic, shave. If I had started with the Feather SS, I might have stayed with it.

The feather system and Kai's are completly different than the shavettes.Used with no pressure,they will get you BBS quickly,usually in 2 passes.

the feather is allegedly light years ahead of the shavettte, but it's extremely expensive. I have a Dovo Shavette and HATE it, Every time I've tried to use it I get cut, also after a 2 pass shave i have severe razor burn (and that's with concentrating on extreme NO pressure) compared to my EXTRA hollow straights which do require attention to pressure give me a comfortable shave every time

I want to try the feather, but I cannot justify that kind of dosh on a shavette style razor..