shavette or straight

tazz

tazz

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291
Location
east ayrshire killie
hi looking for some info as two wat every one prefers straight or shavette before i started de shaving i try the straight razor first got one of ebay that said shave ready but was clearly not and so my first time with a straight was not good.so i thought i would pick up a shavette and i did gave it a blast and it was ok so thought i would give it a shot with a feather blade.and i must see it was sharp so sharp i nearly cut my ear off lol and got a nasty cut am just wondering if any off use great guys use a shavette and if so wat would b the best blade to use as its just sitting in the bathroom cabinet.or just i get my self a shave ready straight and give it a go to as i would love to try either one.
 
I went for straights first, a 5/8 full hollow: which is recommended for beginners. Brilliant progression from horror slasher to competent with blade angle and stretching. Took me around ten shaves to feel really confident with it.

After, I saw a cheap ad on here for a dovo shavette and justified the purchase for a 'travel razor'. This in combination with the black converter holder for dovo long blades give a fine shave. However, I've found that going ATG gives me ingrown hairs. WTG then XTG is adequate enough. I doubt I'll actually use this for a travel razor against my recent portable feather DE purchase, but it's certainly nice to see the contrast between equipment.

I say go for the shavette route if you can find it at bargain price. I just jumped in the deep end and was pre-determined to make it work: vintage straight & strop.
 
i just dont know abought the shavette like i said the first pass was great nice and smoothe.but the second gave me a bought an inch long cut lol. u would have thought edward scissors had a pop at me :lol: :lol: those feather blades are ninja sharp
 
I'm not a fan of Shavettes at all.

DE blades are many times sharper than straight razors so there's much more potential for irritation and nicks . . . even cuts.
 
joe mcclaine said:
I'm not a fan of Shavettes at all.

DE blades are many times sharper than straight razors so there's much more potential for irritation and nicks . . . even cuts.
Click to expand...

This is interesting. I've found that because DE blades (or straights) are sharper, they leave less irritation and nicks due a lighter touch needed. Sorry I realise you said "potiential for".
I've found dull straights to almost always cause irritation and nicks.
 
Using a shavette is like learning to ski on an artificial slope.

You can grasp and practice the basic techniques and get decent results with practice but it isn't that much fun.
It's only when you try the real thing do you appreciate how much easier it is with a well prepared straight.

If you're willing to make the financial jump I'd go straight to straight.
 
i just gave the shavette another go nice and slow and got a good shave i used nanny lavender soap witch is great :D and a derby blade it it was a lot easier than the feather am using it with sanguine x-d20 and was no bad at all not great but no bad
 
Not having used a Shavette, perhaps I should keep my trap shut, but it hasn't stopped me before! The big problem as far as I'm concerned is the quality of modern razor blades. Without rehearsing the arguments about what is meant by "sharp" again, DE blades are fundamentally different from the edges of open razors in that the cutting angle is around 9.5 degrees, rather than the 18-20 which is typical of a straight. That means that the DE blade experiences less resistance when cutting, and that the edge degrades much more quickly. Add to that my perception that modern blades generally have rougher edges than they used to, and some skin stretching, and you have all the ingredients for a really vicious shave. The point of us banging on here about finer and finer finishing stones and stropping is refinement - smoothing - of the edge, which is what gives the cut throat shave its irritation-free character.

Just my tuppence worth.
 
Shavettes are nothing more than a long blade DE and blades must be disposed of properly..a straight razor... well.. obviously nothing disposable..they are great for the environment and were all designed to last A LONG TIME..even if you pickup a junky old chipped straight..it can be restored..point being..you dont have to feel robbed..a proper "honemeister" will be able to a total restore..here is a good before and after restore of my wifes grandfathers razor..it's a 5/8 Henn razor..Enjoy and good luck!

Blades
 

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hi guys still enjoying my shavette lol am using the dovo now just wonder if use guys would no were to get the black blade holder for it so it can take the long shavette blades every were i look seems to be from the states.
 
Can't comment on shavettes as I've never used them. Straights are fairly easy to use soon as you get the basics. It varies from one to the next but didn't take long to get accustomed to. My buddy picked up Feather and most recently Japanese straight ( kamisori ). The latter hasn't been put much use but he mentioned that non-folding Feather was actually much easier to use.

Try both see which one you like best. Who knows you may find someone local to you who'll take you under their wing.
 
i am in joying using the dovo shavette and am waiting on a few straight coming.i like the looks of the Japanese razors i like the Iwasaki would love to have some of those razors but i would not no were or who would stock them but they really do appeal to me watched a few video on folk using them.they seem to control it a lot better
 
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