@WThomas0814 I totally agree with @Goblin. I had the same problem with the guarded blades, they seem to snag and skip over the stubble. Once I switched to the Feather Pros the problem was solved. Don't give up stick with it.
Shavette And Barber Razor Enthusiast (SABRE) group
- Thread starter TheVez2
- Start date
I have a bunch of AC Pro blades that I use in my Vector. I might give it another try. Thanks for the tip and I appreciate the thought on the Schicks.
I think I'll give it another try. I really like the razor and the idea of using it. My first 4-5 experiences were miserable, so, I'll see.
Did you shave with straight razors before?
If not, you do have a learning curve ahead for sure. Four or five shaves is probably just enough to realise what you have gotten yourself into!
What I suggest is building up gradually. To begin with, just to the easy bits of your WTG pass with the Feather (e.g. cheeks and sideburn area) then finish up with a DE. As you gain confidence, gradually cover more ground with the Feather. The moustache is probably the easiest place to hit next, or WTG on the neck. The chin is usually the hardest area, as you need to shave around the curve - I would probably leave that until last. Experiment with using different parts of the blade to hit different areas and see what's easiest - for example, I have dimples on my neck where the toe of the blade seems to work well, but for the tough stuff on the sideburns and chin I often choke up a little and use the heel.
I reckon after a couple of weeks things should start coming together. Once you can do a full WTG pass with the Feather, you are really getting somewhere. Eventually you will probably want to try an XTG pass or even ATG, but you may find WTG with the Feather is close enough once you get it really dialled in, and there's no shame in grabbing the DE for touch-ups.
The SR doesn't let you go as shallow as some other shavettes due to the head profile, but you can definitely get shallow enough for comfort. So, lay the razor flat against your face, then lift the spine just enough to bring the blade into contact with the skin - try and get this angle "locked in" to your muscle memory, like you do with the angle on your favourite DE. Sometimes you may want to go a little steeper, but staying shallow helps to keep things mild. Shaving, not scraping!
No pressure. That goes without saying. Having used my own SR for a couple of weeks I see how you could use the profile of the head to apply gentle lateral pressure and I think that is kind of what Feather are getting at in their diagrams of how their different models work, but you don't need to do this and I think it's probably better not to. Just find the angle as discussed above, lead with the blade and concentrate on keeping a light touch.
I can't explain why, but it seems like too much pressure makes a shavette less efficient rather than more efficient. If your stroke doesn't seem to be shaving efficiently, the natural instinct is to press down harder, but in fact you need to do the opposite!
Experiment with skin stretching using the off-hand to give yourself flat planes to shave on. Again, it's easy to start with this on the cheek and sideburns - just reach over the top of your head and pull the skin up with your fingers. I find there's a sweetspot with this sort of thing. You don't need to apply lots of pressure and make the skin drum-tight. With practice, you work out how much stretching to apply.
Also, open blades seem to like runnier lather. I don't know why this is true, but everyone seems to agree on this. So, when you lather up, trying adding more water than usual to get something really, really sloppy. It can still be thick, but at the same time really saturated.
If you stick at it you will be surprised how quickly it starts to come together. That's all I have to say on the subject but maybe some of the other guys will be able to think of something I missed.
Keep us informed of your progress!
Lot of information there! Very much appreciated. And, no, I never used a straight. Although I once shaved with my KaBar on a hiking trip.Did you shave with straight razors before?
If not, you do have a learning curve ahead for sure. Four or five shaves is probably just enough to realise what you have gotten yourself into!
What I suggest is building up gradually. To begin with, just to the easy bits of your WTG pass with the Feather (e.g. cheeks and sideburn area) then finish up with a DE. As you gain confidence, gradually cover more ground with the Feather. The moustache is probably the easiest place to hit next, or WTG on the neck. The chin is usually the hardest area, as you need to shave around the curve - I would probably leave that until last. Experiment with using different parts of the blade to hit different areas and see what's easiest - for example, I have dimples on my neck where the toe of the blade seems to work well, but for the tough stuff on the sideburns and chin I often choke up a little and use the heel.
I reckon after a couple of weeks things should start coming together. Once you can do a full WTG pass with the Feather, you are really getting somewhere. Eventually you will probably want to try an XTG pass or even ATG, but you may find WTG with the Feather is close enough once you get it really dialled in, and there's no shame in grabbing the DE for touch-ups.
The SR doesn't let you go as shallow as some other shavettes due to the head profile, but you can definitely get shallow enough for comfort. So, lay the razor flat against your face, then lift the spine just enough to bring the blade into contact with the skin - try and get this angle "locked in" to your muscle memory, like you do with the angle on your favourite DE. Sometimes you may want to go a little steeper, but staying shallow helps to keep things mild. Shaving, not scraping!
No pressure. That goes without saying. Having used my own SR for a couple of weeks I see how you could use the profile of the head to apply gentle lateral pressure and I think that is kind of what Feather are getting at in their diagrams of how their different models work, but you don't need to do this and I think it's probably better not to. Just find the angle as discussed above, lead with the blade and concentrate on keeping a light touch.
I can't explain why, but it seems like too much pressure makes a shavette less efficient rather than more efficient. If your stroke doesn't seem to be shaving efficiently, the natural instinct is to press down harder, but in fact you need to do the opposite!
Experiment with skin stretching using the off-hand to give yourself flat planes to shave on. Again, it's easy to start with this on the cheek and sideburns - just reach over the top of your head and pull the skin up with your fingers. I find there's a sweetspot with this sort of thing. You don't need to apply lots of pressure and make the skin drum-tight. With practice, you work out how much stretching to apply.
Also, open blades seem to like runnier lather. I don't know why this is true, but everyone seems to agree on this. So, when you lather up, trying adding more water than usual to get something really, really sloppy. It can still be thick, but at the same time really saturated.
If you stick at it you will be surprised how quickly it starts to come together. That's all I have to say on the subject but maybe some of the other guys will be able to think of something I missed.
Keep us informed of your progress!
You’ll either see my posts or I’ll leave word with my wife to notify you if I manage to open up my throat.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to put “SABRE” in my signature line again.
Last edited:
Few days ago I shaved with a bit heavy Chinese Shavette using A77. That did not work for me.
I remember a communication with a member here on using A77 and AC blade in those cheap turkish shavettes (sedef or Ali B.) .
I snapped the A77 blade and carefully put it in the shavette.
I never enjoyed this Shavette with De blade but also didn't put efforts to master it.
This time this combo was a totally wonderful shave and positive surprise. How can we get such a nice shave for cheap and still spend hundreds of usd?
My only thought is upgrading the scale of the shavette. This system (turkish shavette + A77) apart the blade loading, worked really nice for me. I would recommend to give a try.
I remember a communication with a member here on using A77 and AC blade in those cheap turkish shavettes (sedef or Ali B.) .
I snapped the A77 blade and carefully put it in the shavette.
I never enjoyed this Shavette with De blade but also didn't put efforts to master it.
This time this combo was a totally wonderful shave and positive surprise. How can we get such a nice shave for cheap and still spend hundreds of usd?
My only thought is upgrading the scale of the shavette. This system (turkish shavette + A77) apart the blade loading, worked really nice for me. I would recommend to give a try.
A-77 format is wonderful ! I very much enjoy it in cheap shavette with black plastic insert.
I have metallic "teardrop" A-77 razor. Its weight bothers me. And the shoulder is too short for my liking.
It seams dangerous to load and unload blade in Sedef. Accident is lurking round the corner.
I have Rhinoceros, Cloud and 吉士 blades. All are excellent. What was your choice of blade ?
I have metallic "teardrop" A-77 razor. Its weight bothers me. And the shoulder is too short for my liking.
It seams dangerous to load and unload blade in Sedef. Accident is lurking round the corner.
I have Rhinoceros, Cloud and 吉士 blades. All are excellent. What was your choice of blade ?
Yes, my metallic shavette is the same as yours. I didn't enjoy the first time and I doubt I will reuse it. It is open for a pif if someone is willing to pay shipping.
It is indeed a bit dangerous to load the a77 blade in the turkish shavette as you need to open the end part which is much more tighten. I used another turkish shavette to open that part a bit and then it was easy to put the blade. The good thing is that it is easy to set the blade by pushing it with this razor as in my case or against the mirror or some glass.
I have only 10 Cloud blades and it is the second shave. Years ago I used a brand called antelope. Which is your preferred one? I plan to buy 100 pieces of this type of blade.
I order another A77 shavette and hope to get it soon.
Last edited:
So I was just going back through the thread and reading some of my earlier posts.
On 6th of March...
On 12th of March...
I am so weak.
This is a genius idea! I actually like the Sedef with DE blades, but I am unique here in that I did not get on with the plastic Type 77 razor at all (the scar on my cheek is still visible). I do have 100 Type 77 blades (Rhinoceros brand) though, so I am going to try this for sure and see whether it works better for me.
On 6th of March...
On 12th of March...
I am so weak.
This is a genius idea! I actually like the Sedef with DE blades, but I am unique here in that I did not get on with the plastic Type 77 razor at all (the scar on my cheek is still visible). I do have 100 Type 77 blades (Rhinoceros brand) though, so I am going to try this for sure and see whether it works better for me.
Let us know if it works for you. Careful with the blade loading.So I was just going back through the thread and reading some of my earlier posts.
On 6th of March...
On 12th of March...
I am so weak.
This is a genius idea! I actually like the Sedef with DE blades, but I am unique here in that I did not get on with the plastic Type 77 razor at all (the scar on my cheek is still visible). I do have 100 Type 77 blades (Rhinoceros brand) though, so I am going to try this for sure and see whether it works better for me.
Excellent tips!
I would add that I find it helpful to wet my fingers and rub them on an alum block before I use those fingers to stretch the skin. The alum allows me to get a good grip on the skin even with residual lather slickness.
So, plans went awry, as they sometimes do.
Having decided to give it another go, I was going to kill me BST. A gentleman, however, asked before I could. I felt it would be unfair to not let him buy it, so it is now en route to him with my best wishes.
Wanting to heed the advice given on here and try again, more judiciously, I ordered a Feather DX, with the intent of using AC Pro blades.
I figured I would eventually upgrade to a DX anyway, so, I just saved a step. Besides, those wood scales...
Right or wrong razor decision?
Having decided to give it another go, I was going to kill me BST. A gentleman, however, asked before I could. I felt it would be unfair to not let him buy it, so it is now en route to him with my best wishes.
Wanting to heed the advice given on here and try again, more judiciously, I ordered a Feather DX, with the intent of using AC Pro blades.
I figured I would eventually upgrade to a DX anyway, so, I just saved a step. Besides, those wood scales...
Right or wrong razor decision?
I've got an SS, SR, and DX and, as you likely already know, the primary difference is the "bump" on the leading edge of the razor head. The bump on the SS is most prominent, and non-existent on the DX, with the SR falling somewhere in between.
Personally, I am of the opinion that if you learn to shave with any of them, you can achieve a great shave with all of them. You really can't go wrong with any of the three.
You will be fine. Lots of great tips in the post by @Goblin above, so I won't bother repeating all of it here, just the mian points: Use a light touch, pay attention, keep the razor shallow (only raise the spine enough to just cut your whiskers), and go slowly.
Good luck.
The DX will allow you to take an even shallower effective shave angle, which I personally feel is a desirable attribute. Unlike the SR, because of the hollow profile, you can feel the blade even when the head is still completely flat against your face (based on my DX clone). You still want to tilt the spine up a little for the optimal angle, but it doesn't take much - probably less than 1 spine width.
My real DX was supposed to be here 2 days ago, then last night, and now it says "we will provide a delivery date when your package starts to move". It's sitting in a depot somewhere about 10 miles from my house. This is my first experience of Fed Ex and I am astonished by how terrible they are!
My DX and some Kai unguarded Pinks are stuck in US Customs. They don’t like the wood handle, for some reason. They’ve had it for 4 days now. I filled out a form a couple days ago, but there it sits. FedEx as well.
Whilst I wait, can you tell me how you store your razor between shaves? Do you use a stand of some type for drying purposes? I can’t seem to find anything that doesn’t look like junk. When out of rotation, it would go back in its box, but, while in rotation, no clue what to do with it.
That's odd. I bought my wood DX on ebay from Japan and it passed through customs very quickly, with no action required by me. Wonder why?
You can get a stand if you want to display or store your razor that way but it is unnecessary.
The Feather razors are the only razors in my collection that I take apart, rinse, and dry after each shave. After I rinse and towel dry the blade and razor parts, I run some folded kleenex or toilet paper between the razor scales and let everything air dry completely (couple hours) before I reassemble. After that, mine go into a drawer in the bathroom.
How does the Woody compare to the DX?
I wipe them down, blow through the gap at the back of the spine a couple of times to remove water droplets, then just leave them to air dry. I have an open box on top of my dresser where I stick shavettes that aren't in long term storage, so it just goes in there until the next shave. After a couple of shaves I sometimes disassemble and flip the blade round, so at that point I usually clean the inside gently too.
