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Replacement shavette

The other day my father had an accident and a bunch of things in a closet collapsed and my shaving gear took a bit of a bump. Several soap/cream samples were lost and my Stirling aftershave balm lost half of it's contents thanks to a crack in it's side. My shavette was also a casualty of the accident. I have been looking into getting a straight razor but life put a pause on that. So I have to replace my shavette, but why not get a bit of an upgrade. I am looking for one that has some weight to it, the plastic one I had did the job good but was always too light for my taste. The other thing is it needs to be one that takes standard half blades, I have a half a box left. Price is another concern, $50 USD is max. So any suggestions anyone has please post, thanks in advance.
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
Very sorry to read of those damages and hope everyone is physically okay.

The $50usd max might stifle some recommendations. Maybe @Doc226 still has some Universal shavettes for sale? They take most blades. I can’t remember the price.

Maybe a MACS barber razor?

AliExpress has ♾ options.
 
Sir Losing, let me suggest that you take this opportunity to upgrade to a full-sized shavette.
There are excellent ones available. "Mythus", on alibaba or other sites, which take a feather or kai blade.
These are under $50 as well.
The feather shavette blades are outstanding, IMHO.

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What sarimento said. This is your window of opportunity! That Mythus is a great shaver. Get some guarded blades to start with (Feather or Kai) and give it a go. My guess is that you will never ro back to the half-DE blade shavette again.

Don't worry about the price of the AC blades, either. For me they last for four times as many shaves, so the price is about the same.
 
+1 to @sarimento1 suggestion...truly highly recommended!
I bought these 2 last year for no more than USD27 delivered...my favorite is obviously the Japanese Kamisori type, so easy to use and quite forgiving. I started my straight razor journey with half DE blade shavette and that's difficult...hahaha
AC blades like the Feather Pro-Guard or KAI Protouch are just amazing for me...safe, silky smooth, and very efficient...
I tend to bring these 2 for travels...
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I also recommend that you take this opportunity to upgrade to a Feather Artist Club razor as they are vastly superior in my humble opinion.

There are a variety of both blade and razor options, but Feather is the cream of both crops.

A shears Direct will set you back around twenty bucks and Dorco blades are cheap and give an easy and comfortable shave. That is where I recommend you start and keep your DE blades for DE razors.
 
These posts give me something to look into and search. The Feather razors are a bit out of my range though, they do look nice. Thank you all again.
 
Everybody is recommending based on their experience.
My experience is that Feather AC has nothing superior over half-blade shavettes.

I took out my Feather SR and SS clone. Feather is slightly more polished and fine finished than
clone. But only slightly. Definitely nothing that makes one superior the other. If you don't intend to autoclave or something similar.

AC blades shave the same for me. Both for comfort and longevity. I get ca 15 shaves from AC and 8-30 shaves from half(!)- blade. AC blade costs ca 90 cents vs 6 cents half-blade. If cost is an argument the half-blade is a clear winner.
If comfort is an argument there can be dispute. But for me they are the same.
Some they that half-blade is thinner and has flex vs. thicker AC blade. I just took out my Parker shavette to check that argument. With such small blade exposure it is virtually no flex possible.

If you still think AC is better system AND the cost is prohibitive. There are Ali clones. SS is around long time and DX clone has emerged recently.

Happy shaves !

PS. I like long blade (62mm) cabinet blade shavettes very much!
 
I would suggest either the Focus R21 or a genuine Dovo Shavette with the insert for DE half-blades. The plastic insert/housing makes all the difference in seeking a smooth shave with shavettes from my experience.
 
I would suggest either the Focus R21 or a genuine Dovo Shavette with the insert for DE half-blades. The plastic insert/housing makes all the difference in seeking a smooth shave with shavettes from my experience.
I have a Dovo and also a number of FAC shavettes. The Dovo long blades are basically a double length DE blade and I prefer them for that reason.

If your beard is light, then the thicker blades might do just as well. My beard is heavy and so the FAC blades make for an easier and faster shave.
 
If your shaving ritual involves a bit of hair line detailing such as sideburns and tidying up, then I prefer the Turkish Safed shavettes which enable the blade (with broken end tabs) to be positioned at the extreme tip of the blade holder
 
Price is definitely a concern, I do have half a box of half blades I don't want to go to waste. I was just looking at the Dovo shavettes, do they take proprietary blades? I could not find out that information and on their site they seem to be selling blades but they need a a special holder. I emailed them the same question but I think I will get an answer quicker here. As I am finding out most blades in my price range use proprietary blades. More than likely I will have to get another cheap shavette like my friend gave me and get on with my shaving life. It worked well for a long time, I was hoping to get something a bit heavier.
 
How well does the Dovo hold the blade? There does not seem to be any discernable locking mechanism on the shavettes themselves.
 
I have a Dovo and also a number of FAC shavettes. The Dovo long blades are basically a double length DE blade and I prefer them for that reason.

If your beard is light, then the thicker blades might do just as well. My beard is heavy and so the FAC blades make for an easier and faster shave.

I've mostly used the DE blades as they are easier to acquire in the States. I recently have been using a Personna hair-shaping blade with a dedicated insert in the DOVO Shavette and found it less forgiving than the DE blades by way of comparison. So I'm thinking it may have to do with the rigidity of the blade as it's thicker the the top is reinforced with steel. I do have some of the Solingen long-style blades you mention, but it is hard to find the dedicated plastic insert for them here. By coincidence, I think I may have found one. So I will order a couple and if they work with the blades, I think that might help as they have the longer length you mention, without the rigidity of the steel reinforcement at the top of the blade.
 
Price is definitely a concern, I do have half a box of half blades I don't want to go to waste. I was just looking at the Dovo shavettes, do they take proprietary blades? I could not find out that information and on their site they seem to be selling blades but they need a a special holder. I emailed them the same question but I think I will get an answer quicker here. As I am finding out most blades in my price range use proprietary blades. More than likely I will have to get another cheap shavette like my friend gave me and get on with my shaving life. It worked well for a long time, I was hoping to get something a bit heavier.
I find the Focus R21 with plastic insert works well for dedicated "saloon" style half-blades (i.e., not snapped in half).
 
One of those 19.95 shavettes over at Maggards is hard to beat for their easy of blade loading and shave quality. Have a choice of different colors or a kamasori handle style. Can also find them at other places online.

That said almost any style or brand should work well enough once you have used it a number of times.
 
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