Thread: Sharpness of Shavette Injector Blades vs Straight Razor

[sorry for the long post] I have been shaving with a straight razor for several months now and I am really enjoying the experience. Before I got my straight razor, I used a shavette to practice and determine whether I liked the whole idea of shaving with a straight blade. After months of shaving with my straight blade, this week I thought I would compare the difference between the straight blade and the shavette.

I put a new injector blade into the shavette and shaved with it and I noticed that the shavette was considerable more sharp, leaving my face very smooth after only one pass whereas shaving with my straight blade leaves stubble on the first pass and requires a second pass against the grain to have a smooth face.

My straight razor was professionally honed a month ago by a reputable honing service provider so I do not think that the "honer" is to blame and I feel that after months of practice, my stropping has greatly improved so I am not sure if that is the cause of my straight blade being less sharp than the shavette injector blade.

I know that the two blades will FEEL different, and there is different technique required for shaving with the two different blades but it is apparent that the injector blade at this point is much sharper. My question is, can a straight razor be just as sharp as a shavette injector blade?

Im no expert, but the difference to me anyway is smoothness. I used a shavette for 6 years and never got a bbs on my neck, I also couldn't shave every day with one. I will say that I can do 4 or more passes(I only do 2-3 now) with a straight and no irritation. I tried my shavette a couple months ago. Never again, too irritating. Im not looking at sharp, just the results I get from each and the straight wins hands down IMO. YMMV.

In absolute Micron size Yes.. or close enough that you would never know the difference

It depends on the SR also some are just able to get sharper then others..

If you want wicked sharp edges you need to try some of the Little Valley NY Extreme Hollows honed out on the full Shapton line and stropped to perfection.
There are a few of the Solingen razors that will scare ya too..

Keep in mind Commercial blades use a coating to compensate for their edges, we have to use a strop and use it very well to match them

Number of passes vs sharpness. I may not be correct in the way that I'm expressing this but ... I have straight razors that I've honed that I consider sharp, for a BBS shave it will take me ~ 4ish passes. With my Feather with a Proguard I can easily do it in 3. Sharper or just different?

Originally Posted by Johnus

Number of passes vs sharpness. I may not be correct in the way that I'm expressing this but ... I have straight razors that I've honed that I consider sharp, for a BBS shave it will take me ~ 4ish passes. With my Feather with a Proguard I can easily do it in 3. Sharper or just different?

Everybody has a different experience with it. I found de blades (I tried about 30 ) to always be harsh. If I could get the shave I get now with a shavette and no strop hone etc by just popping in a new blade I would use one. Im looking at how it shaves and I can get a bbs with 2-3 passes. I never got one with a shavette in 6 years. My jawline down grows e-w and sideways almost flat. I could never execute that pass with a harsh(IMO) blade. YMMV.

This is useful to know. I was considering retiring my Filarmonica shavette to the travel bag. Now, I'm not so sure I want to experience facial irritation while shaving in my vacation time.

"… My question is, can a straight razor be just as sharp as a shavette injector blade?"

Yes, if you are an expert with hones and strops. Most of us are good enough to get an acceptable shave with a straight. On average, the answer is no, you cannot get your straight as sharp as a fresh DE or SE blade. But you can still get a great shave when your technique improves. As I read in a post somewhere, sharpness can compensate for certain deficiencies of technique. Keep at it.