Sanguine X-D20 Shavette

I use the Dovo and Parker 31R shavettes. I bought the x-d20 as I cannot get the Parker 31R to fit comfortably in my hand and this looked like a superb alternative.

I ordered directly from Sanguine. It looked like it would do a good job, with the extra handle length fitting better in ones hand and the thumb grip jimps assisting in grip and control. This shavette definitely feels good in the hand, but is finished on the cheap.

The product appeared to be a returned/damaged item with the cover handle having some paint removed.

I was further disgraced to see that the the blade does not seat correctly and end up slanted, which will not be safe when in use. See the image below. (I did check the seating of the blade and the dimples that the blade rests against are not correctly aligned.



Whilst this could be a bad batch that I ended up with, I have to comment on the item was sent to me. This is being returned to the seller.

In summary, this would have been a great shavtte that is very inexpensive, which sits very well in ones hand but, its finished without reasonable care and attention to functionality.

I bought this as a first step to straight shaving.It was really cheap (9,45 pounds in the UK) and obviously I wouldn´t expect much for that price. The X-D20 on the yellow handle only lasted one shave as I wiped it off drying it with a towel

It has a good grip although the handle is not very well finished on the end.Has a nice weight too.Easy to load the blade,doesn´t move,easy to mantain.
Now the shaving: Got some nice cuts and nicks on the first session. No pressure is really a must,and always have an eye for the end of the blade, as it is shorter than the end of the shavette and is where I get the nicks.The shave is as smooth as the blade can do (using Lord and Wilko now) and I realise how much fun can be straight shaving so going to move to a straight pretty soon.

I think it is a nice piece to start with in the straight universe.

I bought one of these recently from Sanguinebeauty in the U.K. for a total of $14 shipped with a pack of Wilkenson DE blades. I bought it for several reasons; I have been reading about them lately, my barber and I discussed them recently, and most important - I didn't have one. The idea was that this would make a good travel razor as it could go in carry-on luggage empty and I could buy a pack of blades at the airport drug store when I land.
It arrived from the U.K. in 7 days (faster than my mail gets across town here), well packaged in a travel case with a 5pack of blades (10 edges as blades are snapped in half to fit the razor).
I loaded it with 1/2 a Feather (why not) and took it for a road test.
The scales and tang are slightly shorter than a regular straight razor and it is a bit lighter so I had to modify my grip and go slowly at first.
The result was a smooth, comfortable shave in two passes with no irritation or nicks.
It seems well made, and cleaning is simple, just open it and rinse.
Shaving smoothness got an N/A because that would depend on the blade one loads.

pedroso268;919459 said:

HEAVENS ABOVE, SPARE ME OF THIS TORTURE !!!!!. I'M A DE SHAVER, I OWN LIKE 3 GILLETTE SUPERSPEEDS AND FEATHER DE RAZORS, AND I LOVE THEM ALL. WATCHING VIDEO CLIPS IN YOUTUBE ABOUT STRAIGHT RAZORS AND SEEN HOW EASY WAS TO SHAVE WITH THEM I DECIDED TO BUY A SHAVETTE. AND I BOUGHT ONE , YES SIR !!!!. I LOADED THIS THING SANGUINE WHATEVER YOU CALL IT WHITH A FRESH OUT OF THE PACK FEATHER DE BLADE AND I WENT ALL THE WAY TO MINDANAO. I USED TABAC SOAP AND A SHAVEMAC SILVERTIP BRUSH (XL) AND A HEATED CERAMIC BOWL. OHHHHH ST PETER, OHHHHH ANGELS OF THE DIVINE REALM, , THE PULLING, THE TUGGING ( NOT MANY NICKS THOUGHT), UTTERLY UNCOMFORTABLE. WHATS GOING ON ??, IT WAS A FRESH FEATHER BLADE AND TABAC SOAP. I HAVE A VERY HEAVY BEARD, BUT WHEN I SHAVE WITH MY DE SUPERSPEED I FEEL NOTHING ON MY FACE AND FEATHER BLADES LAST ME FOR A WEEK, AND NOT NEED FOR 5000 PASSES. NOW I'M SCARED TO BUY A PROPER STRAIGHT AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT, PART WITH MY MONEY AND AT THE END GET NOTHING BACK. I'M LOOKING FOR ADVICE IF THIS HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE SHAVETTE.

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Caps lock, man, Caps lock! Don't worry, I have one of these and they are ok but by no means are they anything like a straight razor. It shaves basically like any DE razor since you are using DE blades...

HEAVENS ABOVE, SPARE ME OF THIS TORTURE !!!!!. I'M A DE SHAVER, I OWN LIKE 3 GILLETTE SUPERSPEEDS AND FEATHER DE RAZORS, AND I LOVE THEM ALL. WATCHING VIDEO CLIPS IN YOUTUBE ABOUT STRAIGHT RAZORS AND SEEN HOW EASY WAS TO SHAVE WITH THEM I DECIDED TO BUY A SHAVETTE. AND I BOUGHT ONE , YES SIR !!!!. I LOADED THIS THING SANGUINE WHATEVER YOU CALL IT WHITH A FRESH OUT OF THE PACK FEATHER DE BLADE AND I WENT ALL THE WAY TO MINDANAO. I USED TABAC SOAP AND A SHAVEMAC SILVERTIP BRUSH (XL) AND A HEATED CERAMIC BOWL. OHHHHH ST PETER, OHHHHH ANGELS OF THE DIVINE REALM, , THE PULLING, THE TUGGING ( NOT MANY NICKS THOUGHT), UTTERLY UNCOMFORTABLE. WHATS GOING ON ??, IT WAS A FRESH FEATHER BLADE AND TABAC SOAP. I HAVE A VERY HEAVY BEARD, BUT WHEN I SHAVE WITH MY DE SUPERSPEED I FEEL NOTHING ON MY FACE AND FEATHER BLADES LAST ME FOR A WEEK, AND NOT NEED FOR 5000 PASSES. NOW I'M SCARED TO BUY A PROPER STRAIGHT AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT, PART WITH MY MONEY AND AT THE END GET NOTHING BACK. I'M LOOKING FOR ADVICE IF THIS HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE SHAVETTE.

I bought this razor as a backup to my straight. As I don't know how to hone, I send it away which could take up to a week or so. So decided this would be a handy backup razor.

Saw it on the auction website and bought it. Came with wilkinson blades free.

Bit fiddly to load the blade. But once you do it once you figure it out quite handy.

I must say. This is now my favorite shaver. I find it very easy to use, But you have to be very light with it. Fly'd through a week stubble the otherday with a single pass. Just remember to lather up and be light. Excellent razor if you wanted to start off cheap. Wish I'd of bought this before my straights. No need to hone, strop, paste. nothing! Just learn to shave and replace the blade when it gets dull. 10 out of 10!

I have only recently joined the DE bandwagon and I have enjoyed every shave thereafter. Then, one day I read the review on the Sanguine X-D20 shavette and decided to get one as I am still light years away from the possibility of owning a genuine straight razor (not to mention the costs associated with it). I purchased this shavette from a UK seller on ebay. Received it in the mail today and decided to give it a try. So, I followed all the necessary pre-shave ritual. Lathered using a Van Der Hagen Deluxe SS. Then placed one half of the Dorco DE blade in my shavette, took a deep breath and started my shave cautiously and always keeping in mind not to put any pressure on the razor. I eventually succeeded in getting a clean shave with a couple of nicks on chin. Did I get my best shave with it ? Heck, NO (I can still feel the razor burn). Will I try it again? For sure, YES. The only reason for those nicks and the razor burn is my technique and the only way to improve that IMO would be to use the shavette.

I do think it is a bit unfair to try to lump these things together with straight razors. One reviewer said that his technique couldn't be at fault because he managed with a real straight. This is false logic; they don't use completely congruent technique and thus knowing one is not knowing the other.

I shaved with a normal straight when I was a teenager, and then switched to Machf 3 for added convenience when I was 18. Recently I got nostalgic for straights again, but remembering the extra maintenance and upkeep just turned me off. Decided to take a risk and pick one of these disposable deals up and give it a go. I live in Taiwan but the company was happy to ship internationally.

Were this thing really well-made, it would not feel as much like holding a piece of stamped sheet metal. The shank would have a more stout thickness-width ratio, the jimps would not be superficial scribe lines but a nice texture, the tip of the blade would mate more accurately to the leading edge of a DE blade (the round point helps but is still 2mm too long). The clamp could have a crimp or notch or something to assist in opening, and the grind to the edge could be just a little bit finer (though it compares well to the Feather AC in that regard already, the DE blades are thinner and don't stick out as far).

With all those little quirks, it's worth mentioning that it's priced very nicely, and you do get a lot for your money. I've dedicated more of my time on my Feather AC (mostly to justify the expense), but I am finding that I can get excellent shaves with the Sanguine these days. When I first got it, I wasn't able to get better shaves than I could get with my Mach 3, and wound up with a good bit of irritation. Now that I have the better part of the learning curve of this particular kind of tool behind me, good shaves are pretty easy now.

I guess most people don't take shavette-like razors too seriously, so there's not much of a market for high-quality ones except for the likes of Feather. The general idea floating around is that these are like "fake straights", which isn't particularly fair to those of us who like this kind of product. If the Dovo shavette or the Sanguine XD20 were closer in fit and finish to the Feather Artist Club, they could be seen as more serious tools, rather than some entry-level starting point meant to be upgraded from eventually. I got the XD20 and then shortly thereafter got a Feather AC, because while the XD20 was nice, it just didn't have the quality feeling I want from a "serious" razor.

I do think the XD20 has a valuable place in the entry-level game, and it seems to me like a good low-cost way to outfit a barber shop with nice razors. It would definitely be nice though if there was a premium model at 2x the price.

It was my first straight, the theory being to try out a mach three replacement and develop some skill - and it almost put me off shaving!

Since it doesn't taper well down to the blade, and it's lumpily-constructed, the blade end is squared off where the blade sticks out. Because of this, it's almost like the blade is sitting in a block of metal, and a sticky-out (very thin and sharp) DE blade stuck in a block of metal is a garunteed way to rip off half your face.

Which is what I've been doing for the last two months. Today, after getting a pretty old straight from eBay (£10) and honing it properly, I had my first shave with a real straight. It's the closest, best shave I have ever had, and it wasn't even after a shower or particularly well prepared. After a month of hacking with the shavette, this was just so easy to handle!

The problem wasn't my handling of the razor, as the ultra sharp singing blade I used would have peeled my face if it were - it's just the shavette itself.

Save your dollars and put them towards the proper kit - it's not worth the cuts and stinging!

The newer versions now have jimps on them. It looks like they listened. This feels close to a str8 and does a great job. There is a slight improvement in the handle also. The weight and finish is excellant. It is an easy shaver providing me with a BBS feel with very little effort.
The placement of the 1/2 blade is a bit tricky. It rests against the small posts and you sizzor the unit closed on top of this. It can shift out of place easily. You just need to be cautious with this part- still it is much easier to do this then sharpen.
I plan to keep using this as a clean up tool and as a travel razor.
This is definitely a good product. Unfortunatelly it does not seem to be sold in the US. I ordered mine online from GB.
Headdoc

I've fancied trying straights for some time, but haven't been able to get round to it. When I saw this product, I decided it was low-priced enough for me to give it a go: hell, it may not be exactly the same as a traditional straight, but it'd give me chance to develop some skill, while keeping costs (and risks to my person) down.

I'm impressed. Following various guidance found on this forum and elsewhere, I started slowly -- an inch or two of my face the first day, increasing the second and so on. Sure, I ended up with a few longish cuts the first few times I tried it, but just think how much worse (deeper!) they'd have been if I'd have been using a "real" straight.

This morning, I managed to get virtually a whole shave done with the XD-20 -- a remarkable achievement for someone who's only been using this instrument for a short while. Were there any cuts? Well, yes: but only two -- and very minor ones which stopped bleeding with the barest dab of a styptic pencil.

Highly recommended for fellow newcomers!

Got mine yesterday
For the price, this is a magnificent shaving tool.
The blades sits nice and snug with little exposure. It is much heavier when compared to sanguine's other offering, a standard crimped shavette.
The plastic handle is nice, but they skimped a little on this one I think, the middle pin seems a little shoddy.

elosamurai is bang on about the need for jimps, it's a slippery bugger. Add that and push the blade a little further towards the tip and I'd say that's about as good as it gets without a redesign.

Intro- Sanguine has really put some extra thought into their new shavette. It now comes packaged in very nice quality vinyl pouch, has a new ergonomic designed handle (looks just like the Feather AC), and an upswept monkey's tail..



Craftsmanship- Sanguine has redesigned its clamping system with brass studs for the DE blade; where in previous models were merely punched holes and dimples on the opposite blade.
Also the new handle is very comfortable to hold. With pinky on its monkey tail and all other fingers past and in front of the handle, makes it easier to hold with all fingers closed together.
Althought the handle doesn't come with an adjustable tension screw ala Feather, its brass rivit is tight and true spacing the blades perfectly..

Ease to Sharpen- No such thing here!Just use your favorite blade. Feathers for me..

Easy to Maintain- Should be very easy to maintain as it has scissor quality stainless steel blades with a mirror finish.. Just rinse and wipe..

Overall- I really like this new shavette. Its very comfortable in the hand. The heft of the blades make it similar to a straight, and is nicely balanced to the handle.
Also the monkey tail is up and away from the blade edge; making it easier to maneouver around those tricky areas where a normal straight might make it impossible to reach, Imagine a E-W pass on your neck; the shank always hits my collar bone with real straights..



I only have two gripes about the X-D20. One is that when the blade is seated, theres a space in front and behind the lenght of the blade. Would've been nicer if it had tighter tolerances. This in no way affected the performance or shave quality.
Also it would've been nicer to have jimps on the shank. The high mirror finish gets really slippery if you get some shave cream there..


In closing I like to say they have a great product here and no one would regret its purchase.. Heck its easier to swallow than the price of the Feather AC.. Is it a Feather??..no..But not a bad way to know if you'll like the feather..