It really depends on the skill level of the person holding the shavette or SR. I have used both shavette and SR and I can get a great shave from both. But I feel I get a better, more relaxing shave from a SR. A shavette, as others have noted, is not for the faint of heart and is less forgiving. I have shed more blood with a shavette than with a SR. This is one of those YMMV things...
Can a DE blade in a shavette give as good a straight razor shave as a Straight?
- Thread starter honeybadger79
- Start date
Very new to this straight razor shaving. I used the shavette for a few months prior and the shavette can give you a great shave and nick you all over the place. My "new" vintage SR has given me pretty good BBS's but without the nicks. I read somewhere that there is less flex in the blade of the shavette as opposed to the straights. I prefer the straight.
I get great shaves from my Feather DX and Weck Sextoblade. I bought a box of Weck blades and strop them. A good protective soap and patience are key.
To my opinion yes but i do preffer The Straight VS The Shavette. Like it been said before The traditional Straight is less forgiven VS The shavette but when you get The good tech out of a shavette The results are about The same. To me The shavette is my travelling straight or when i feel to lazzy to strop lol, when i travel i dont carry my strop whit me. On The other hand if you dont cut or Nick yourself whit The shavette and you get a good shave out of it to my opinion your gone a get very good results whit a traditional straight.
I find the straight to be MORE forgiving than my Feather DX with a super pro blade. Traditional straights work best for me for everyday shaving, Feather DX when I skip a day.
In my experience both straight and shavette can give very satisfactory shaves. The difference is: shavette is a tool, much like a sandwich made with packaged ingredient -- quick, cheap and keep you going; straight, on the other hand, is an art, from craftsmanship to honing, stropping, like cooking a dinner with fresh ingredient, is a slow way to enjoy the process.
Depends on your own honing skills.
Never underestimate a shavette with a DE blade, this is top notch. It takes some skills to get a straight razor this sharp. Some people might get them even sharper than a DE blade, but I am not one of them. Also, there's no coating.
Hi, Extrawurst, coating? You mean the platinum, Teflon, or whatever the formula the DE blade manufacturers put on the blade edge to make the shave smoothier?
[MENTION=2818]ximhot[/MENTION]: Yes, that's what I meant.
Right now I'm on my third week using only shavette(all my 4 in rotation) and the shaves that i get are very consistant no nick, irritation, cut or razor bumb. Don't get me wrong it's not comparable to a real straight but very close to it, to my opinion practice is the key.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
Recently I spent 5 months on a ship, shaving with nothing but my Sally's "Magic Razor" shavettes, with no ill effects. Actually I did have my adjustable gold plated Gillette Executive with me and used it maybe a dozen times in that five months. Blades were Feathers. Two shavettes so when I snap a blade in half, I have someplace to put both pieces. With daily use and a little thought and effort, it is possible to improve your skill with the shavette to the point where the shave definitely rivals the shave from a good straight with a good edge. The biggest difference that I find is that my shave angle is a bit shallower with a shavette than with a straight. With a straight, the gap between spine and face is about one spine thickness. With a shavette, the "spine" is practically dragging across my face. This I think is because the blade is so much thinner and more flexible.
I have no experience using a shavette or a straight but simply thinking out loud I don't know how a straight can be "better" than a shavette. My thinking is that a manufactured razor is going to be more consistent and in many cases sharper than any person manually sharpening a straight could ever be. Unless of course they are using Edge Pro every other shave. What am I missing here?
I like using a shavette. It took probably 10 shaves before I managed to not nick myself. At this point, I can shave almost as fast as with a DE, and very rarely nick myself.
If you are worried about cuts, try a Luxor Pro. It covers the corners of the blade, and really reduces the chance of cutting yourself. Or just dull the corners on a piece of wood or stone.
If you are worried about cuts, try a Luxor Pro. It covers the corners of the blade, and really reduces the chance of cutting yourself. Or just dull the corners on a piece of wood or stone.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
There are several reasons why it could be better than a shavette. The straight blade is more rigid than a shavette, which reduces cuts. Believe it or not, a straight CAN be honed noticeably sharper than a shavette. Depends on the skill of the honer, how much time and effort and thought he is willing to put into it, and on his equipment. A straight is stropped before every shave, resulting in a smoother shave. Stropping a DE half blade or a long shavette blade doesn't do much of anything for the shave. A shavette can shave decently, if you understand the technical differences between it and a straight, and definitely better than a straight that is not as sharp and smooth as it should be. Learning to shave with a straight is easier than learning with a shavette, but learning to hone and strop. which is of course something a shavette user need not be concerned with, sort of levels the field a bit. All in all, though, yes, a straight is a bit better. But a decent shavette is still perfectly adequate.
EDIT---- Oh, I forgot to say "YMMV".
Thanks for your reply. Very interesting.
I would have truly loved to go through the straight route but it was pretty impossible to me. I'm currently living in a country, or I should say a continent (Latin America) where no honemeister can be found nor a "mentor" who can teach me ho to properly hone a straight. Also i should have had to buy a full set of stones and shipping by weight to this God forgotten place can be even more expensive than the stones themselves.
So i went to the cheaper and easier route and I bought myself a nice Antigua Barbearia do Barrio shavette. I chose this one mainly for two reasons:
1) materials: thick stainless steel and wood (brazilian jatoba) handle.
2) versatility: it uses whatever blade you want to load in: half DE blades, injector blades, Feather Artist Club blades.
2b) price: $25 shipped is a bargain.
I'm slowly learning how to shave with it, no more nicks but it's still a lot slower than a safety razor and, although I use super sharp Feather Pro blades, I can't get a close shave on my neck and on my chin. I will probably learn how to shave closer with time and patience, still I feel I'm missing the whole "straight experience". I mean all that sort of "mysticism" of honing my own blade, stropping it, the "shave like the ancestors" kind of experience. And even the most battered straight will always be more beautiful and charming than the shiniest shavette (I'm talking to you Feather DX!).
So i went to the cheaper and easier route and I bought myself a nice Antigua Barbearia do Barrio shavette. I chose this one mainly for two reasons:
1) materials: thick stainless steel and wood (brazilian jatoba) handle.
2) versatility: it uses whatever blade you want to load in: half DE blades, injector blades, Feather Artist Club blades.
2b) price: $25 shipped is a bargain.
I'm slowly learning how to shave with it, no more nicks but it's still a lot slower than a safety razor and, although I use super sharp Feather Pro blades, I can't get a close shave on my neck and on my chin. I will probably learn how to shave closer with time and patience, still I feel I'm missing the whole "straight experience". I mean all that sort of "mysticism" of honing my own blade, stropping it, the "shave like the ancestors" kind of experience. And even the most battered straight will always be more beautiful and charming than the shiniest shavette (I'm talking to you Feather DX!).
I live even farther than you from Larry, I've never honed anything, but I still took the plunge! I ordered a sight unseen whipped dog of a razor from Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment + poor man's strop kit, because that was what I could afford. Add brush+cream from the nearest supermarket (they stock ONE kind of brush, DE blade and cream) and so I've shaved with a straight since then.
I prefer a straight mostly because it's cool -- it transformed a stupid chore into a jawdropping circus show of a hobby. Swinging a sword around my neck and surviving! Plus, NOTHING else gets a week old growth as well.
I don't think so.
I've been a safety razor user for over 30 years.Mostly Gillette adj.slim which I bought new.But als adjustable Merkur.
The last 5 years or so I've been straight shaving and the smoothness of a straight shave is just incredible.But maybe more important is the way the skin feels after the shave.No irritation whatsoever.Can't beat a straight.
I've been a safety razor user for over 30 years.Mostly Gillette adj.slim which I bought new.But als adjustable Merkur.
The last 5 years or so I've been straight shaving and the smoothness of a straight shave is just incredible.But maybe more important is the way the skin feels after the shave.No irritation whatsoever.Can't beat a straight.
Depends on who you are. MHO.
What I mean is, with a DE, any DE, I always get a tiny bit of irritation. No matter how light my touch, no matter how good or careful I prep.
I never, ever get any, any, irritation from a straight.
Can a Shavette get as close of a shave as a straight? Absolutely. Is it as smooth, comfortable and irritation free as my straights? For me, not in a million years.
YMMV
But I have a Shavette in rotation. I think it's a good idea to own one and keep my skill with it; it's a good choice for travel.
Again, MHO.
I'm also thinking about making a set of scales for it. Why not? No reason not to put a nice set of scales on something I'm going to use regularly.
What I mean is, with a DE, any DE, I always get a tiny bit of irritation. No matter how light my touch, no matter how good or careful I prep.
I never, ever get any, any, irritation from a straight.
Can a Shavette get as close of a shave as a straight? Absolutely. Is it as smooth, comfortable and irritation free as my straights? For me, not in a million years.
YMMV
But I have a Shavette in rotation. I think it's a good idea to own one and keep my skill with it; it's a good choice for travel.
Again, MHO.
I'm also thinking about making a set of scales for it. Why not? No reason not to put a nice set of scales on something I'm going to use regularly.
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