The Straight-Eight Shavette Pass.

[tomjr]

gentlemen, thanks for the offer but i could not wait. i purchased a weck off the bay 8 bucks shipped. it has a bluish aluminum handle but was in pristine condition. i must say it does shave very well (2 shaves in). must get some more blades. so scratch me off the list please and thanks anyway, tom.

 

[wherndon]

Every time I read this thread I jump onto ebay and only just stop myself from bidding on one. SWMBO will kill me plus getting the blades seems like it would be difficult and a bit expensive.

Actually the blades should be the easiest part to find. Sally's Beauty Supply online, or a local store. I was quite surprised to find a local Sally's just a few minutes from my work. Walked in and they had both the Fromm and Personna blades on the shelf. BTW: they have a store locator at the online site.
regards,
Bil

 

[TheVez2]

gentlemen, thanks for the offer but i could not wait. i purchased a weck off the bay 8 bucks shipped. it has a bluish aluminum handle but was in pristine condition. i must say it does shave very well (2 shaves in). must get some more blades. so scratch me off the list please and thanks anyway, tom.

Oh man, my eight are dropping like flies. I'm now down to six! If y'all keep buying Weck's this isn't going to be much of a pass. I kid, I think it's awesome. But I'm still going to hold you to providing a proper review and comparison once you've used it for a week or so.

 

[ladykate]

Every time I read this thread I jump onto ebay and only just stop myself from bidding on one. SWMBO will kill me plus getting the blades seems like it would be difficult and a bit expensive.

They are about 1/2 the price of Feather blades if purchased through the normal eBay dealers. I haven't seen a fantastic deal on them but 60 blades for about $34 shipped is pretty good. Don't know how much to where you are - I can check and send you some if you can't get a dealer to spring for I'ntl shipping. I started stropping my current blade around shave 3 or 4 and am now on shave 10. However, for those who like the edgy shaves of a new blade, stropping doesn't bring back original sharpness. The 5th and beyond shaves with a stropped Weck are more like GD shaves. It passes HHT but you need to treat it like you do a normal straight. Stropping seems to bring it back to that 'str8' state for each shave. Don't know how long I can make it last but it certainly extends the life if you are willing to have a 'normal straight' shave. I have a nice DFS this morning.

 

[Stubblejumper]

As a result of this thread, I purchased a Weck on ebay (a stainless, US Army medical one). I shaved with it for the first time last night, using a NOS Weck hair shaper blade from a pack that I found at a local antique mall.

Some observations:

- The stainless scales are heavy and throw off the balance somewhat. It's still useable, but I had to position the scales at a different angle than I'm used to.
- I didn't like the guard at all. I constantly had to stop and reverse the thing. For instance, I always shave one side of my upper lip, and then do the other side with a backhand stroke. With the Weck, I had to reverse the guard to do the backhand stroke. I found the whole thing too awkward for the way I shave.
- I found the blade to be too dull. Maybe it was because I was trying to shave a five day growth, but it was pulling a bit, and I had to use more pressure than I'm used to. I shave with a folding Feather AC SS and a CJB kami, with Feather blades. Maybe these ultra sharp blades have spoiled me. I've never used a traditional straight, so I don't know how this vintage Weck blade would compare. The second pass, this time without the guard, was smoother, but still nowhere near Feather sharp.
- Compared to the only broken blade shavette I've ever used (a Lord disposable), the Weck felt so much better (once ditching the guard). Definitely more forgiving. The only nick I got was on the corner of my chin on the first pass, when I decided to do my whole chin without reversing the guard.

I also bought a regular, plastic scaled sextoblade on the bay, and a sealed box of 50 vintage Weck blades (carbon steel barber blades), but they haven't arrived yet.

Now I'll have to get some Fromm and Personna blades from Sally's, to compare to the vintage blades... and a strop... and something to sharpen the vintage blades with... this is going to get expensive...

God help me!

 

[tomjr]

Oh man, my eight are dropping like flies. I'm now down to six! If y'all keep buying Weck's this isn't going to be much of a pass. I kid, I think it's awesome. But I'm still going to hold you to providing a proper review and comparison once you've used it for a week or so.

u got it, but it may take more than a week, i hardly ever shave with the same razor 2 times in a row. my hats off to Doc!

 

[wherndon]

Oh man, my eight are dropping like flies. I'm now down to six! If y'all keep buying Weck's this isn't going to be much of a pass. I kid, I think it's awesome. But I'm still going to hold you to providing a proper review and comparison once you've used it for a week or so.

But the whole purpose was to get people interested in the Weck, was it not?

regards,
Bil

 

[TheVez2]

But the whole purpose was to get people interested in the Weck, was it not?

Indeed it is! My comment was tongue in cheek, if you notice what I said in the middle.

I kid, I think it's awesome.

 

[Member357]

Actually the blades should be the easiest part to find. Sally's Beauty Supply online, or a local store. I was quite surprised to find a local Sally's just a few minutes from my work. Walked in and they had both the Fromm and Personna blades on the shelf. BTW: they have a store locator at the online site.
regards,
Bil

Thanks Bill,
but I'm in Japan so there are no local Sally's.
Do you know if the online store ships internationally? And which blades would I buy there? Some of the Personna blades would work out costing far more than it costs me to get
Feather or Kai blades here....

 

[Member357]

They are about 1/2 the price of Feather blades if purchased through the normal eBay dealers. I haven't seen a fantastic deal on them but 60 blades for about $34 shipped is pretty good. Don't know how much to where you are - I can check and send you some if you can't get a dealer to spring for I'ntl shipping. I started stropping my current blade around shave 3 or 4 and am now on shave 10. However, for those who like the edgy shaves of a new blade, stropping doesn't bring back original sharpness. The 5th and beyond shaves with a stropped Weck are more like GD shaves. It passes HHT but you need to treat it like you do a normal straight. Stropping seems to bring it back to that 'str8' state for each shave. Don't know how long I can make it last but it certainly extends the life if you are willing to have a 'normal straight' shave. I have a nice DFS this morning.

Interesting..... I have a Feather non-folding SS model, a Kai Captain folding, a CJB feather copy, and two shave ready straights on their way to me..... I think I'm going to try and resist a while longer... or maybe I'll just pick up a Weck now and sort out blades somewhere down the line.....

 

[TheVez2]

I think feather also makes hair shaper blades, you might look into that.

 

[ladykate]

Blades... There are Diane, Brittiny, Vincent, Personna, Weck (NOS), Fromm... and probably others. I've tried the Brittiny and discovered that it wasn't nearly as good as the Personna (for me). It was kinda rough and by the second shave it was getting pretty dead. Both the Personna and Fromm seem very good.

Anyone tried the Dianne or Vincent? Are there any other kinds that are common? TheVez2 mentioned Feather but I could only find the ones with the scallops in the blade.

FWIW (and to fluff up my post): I'm on shave 12 with a Personna (that I strop 60 laps before a shave). I'm just using it until it craps out to see what I can get from it. Shaves are mild but I'm getting CCS to DFS without much of a problem. No nicks since about shave 4 - which is very cool. The Personna is acting like the Feather that I did this with a few months ago - it mellows out but remains sharp enough and very easy to use.

 

[TheVez2]

I've never heard of Dianne or Vincent blades. And I've looked all over online for different blades.

 

[ladykate]

I've never heard of Dianne or Vincent blades. And I've looked all over online for different blades.

Go to eBay. Search on Diane hair shaper and/or Vincent hair shaper. There are others, too. I suspect the Personna and the Fromm are the premium ones - just based on the price. The others are discounted and if my experience with Brittiny is anything to consider, you get what you pay for.

 

[wherndon]

Thanks Bill,
but I'm in Japan so there are no local Sally's.
Do you know if the online store ships internationally? And which blades would I buy there? Some of the Personna blades would work out costing far more than it costs me to get
Feather or Kai blades here....

I checked and they do not shipp international. hmmm...

 

[ladykate]

Amazon ships worldwide. They do have restrictions on some items - you would have to check on the blades. Order a pack of 60 Personnas from your location and see what they charge (before you commit to the sale, of course). Amazon prices are very close to eBay prices on the hair shaper blades. Of course, there are eBay sellers who would probably ship if you asked. I spent almost 15 years overseas in one place or another and was usually able to get things - just had to be creative (but legal).

 

[eth]

Here's a Personna 60-pack, shipped worldwide. I bought a pack from there the other day, and will get started as soon as blades and the Sextoblade I bought arrives. Looking forward to it.

 

[Kentos]

Received the package today. Man the blade exposure is impressive! It also smells like we have some Tabac Fans in the passaround crew .

 

[TheVez2]

Awesome, can't wait to hear your impressions, Kent.

 

[Kentos]

First shave is in the books!

I got a near BBS as I do most of my other straights, as well as my recent SE on a chopstick shave. First impressions are

1) it feels just like a "real" straight. It's heavier than a full hollow bit lighter than my big wedges.
2) the blade feels as keen as any western straight I have honed myself straight off the rocks, but less keen than razors stropped on nano sprays.
3) it is less keen than Feather/Kai and my Kamisoris
4) it feels less smooth than what I am accustomed to, especially evident in the ATG on my upper lip.

I would say, IMHO, it is a very good facsimile of a full hollow western straight razor. Going forward I would have no reservations recommending these things to novice shavers as it is very forgiving and feels very natural. I am not sure it needs to be as sharp as a feather. I have, however, stropped it up on .1CBN and .05 poly diamond on hanging leather to see if it smooths out that edge a bit.

All in all 2 thumbs up!