Early review of Generic Shavette from ebay

[marshmellow]

This shavette costed less than 3 US dollars on ebay. It took more than a month for it to arrive my house.

I used it for two days. On the first day, I got two cuts on my face. On the second day, I didn't get cuts, but I got small razor burns and resorted to my double-edge safety razor to finish shaving the chin. I couldn't shave my chin well with the shavette.

While the shavette works, the unbalanced weight distribution of the shavette makes it difficult to control the shavette. So, it was more difficult to shave with it than with a gold dollar straight razor which was easy to control with my hands. The shavette was constantly wobbling in my hands.

The build quality is not great, either. Things don't fit together well. I had to bend the handle a little. The bumps are a bit smaller than the holes.

While you can use it, I recommend a better product that is more balanced and is precisely built.

 

[rbscebu]

I have a couple of these I bought through Lazada Philippines for USD 2 each to use as my travel razors. I have only tried them with a half Ming Shi DE blade and they worked quite well.

The razor is all 304SS and holds the blade well. Being a shavette style razor, it requires a different use technique than a regular SR but not too much to master if you are proficient in regular SR shaving.

I found the razor well balanced for me. I like my SRs to have a centre of gravity at about the pivot pin when opened 180deg. This razor is about there with blade fitted.

At this price I will not be too upset when some over zealous airport security officer decides that he needs it more than I do.. (I have actually had a cartridge razor confiscated from my carry-on at a smaller airport in Vietnam.)

I will be doing a full review of this razor in the review forum within a few days.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Those shavettes are all over fleabay right now and I have a couple. They shave just fine for me, with half of a Feather DE blade. Keep your shave angle dead low! This is very important. Always stretch the skin, for every stroke. Also important. And on the point of the chin, try passing from one side to the other, preferably left to right if you are right handed, razor toe pointing up. The curvature is very tricky, going N-S but E-W or W-E is a gentler curve. Well worth the departure from WTG.

If you try to use this just like you would use a straight razor, you WILL have problems, I promise. Same with almost any shavette.

 

[steveclarkus]

This shavette costed less than 3 US dollars on ebay. It took more than a month for it to arrive my house.

I used it for two days. On the first day, I got two cuts on my face. On the second day, I didn't get cuts, but I got small razor burns and resorted to my double-edge safety razor to finish shaving the chin. I couldn't shave my chin well with the shavette.

While the shavette works, the unbalanced weight distribution of the shavette makes it difficult to control the shavette. So, it was more difficult to shave with it than with a gold dollar straight razor which was easy to control with my hands. The shavette was constantly wobbling in my hands.

The build quality is not great, either. Things don't fit together well. I had to bend the handle a little. The bumps are a bit smaller than the holes.

While you can use it, I recommend a better product that is more balanced and is precisely built.

I use a basic Parker I got for $20 off of Amazon and it shaved beautifully. I spent $60 for a Focus Al and regret it. I much prefer the Parker. I tried to learn with a shavette but it was just too sharp. After actually learning to use a traditional straight razor, I started using shavettes regularly.

 

[marshmellow]

I use a basic Parker

Do you mean something like Parker SRX?

 

[steveclarkus]

Do you mean something like Parker SRX?

No, the Parker SR1. The SRX is heavy by comparison and I prefer the lighter weight. I figured the heavier scales would throw it out of balance. In fact, most of my SR’s are 5/8 and smaller with full hollow grinds.

 

[marshmellow]

No, the Parker SR1. The SRX is heavy by comparison and I prefer the lighter weight.

• Have you used SR1 and SRX?
• I re-tried a Gold Dollar straight razor you gave to me. It was so much better than the 3-dollar shavette from ebay. It was easy to control. It was cutting through hairs very smoothly.

 

[steveclarkus]

• Have you used SR1 and SRX?
• I re-tried a Gold Dollar straight razor you gave to me. It was so much better than the 3-dollar shavette from ebay. It was easy to control. It was cutting through hairs very smoothly.

I haven’t used the SRX,just the SR1. I like balanced razors and since the SRX has the same blade holder arm as the SR1 I figured the SRX would be scale heavy. In the beginning, shavettes can present problems because they are so sharp. A Regular straight is a bit more forgiving. Glad you like the GD. They are a bit heavy for my taste. I mostly use small blades 4/8 & 9/16 are my favorites. You can pick them up at very reasonable prices because they are not as popular but they shave so very well. I have a few 5/8 I like but only two 6/8. If there is anything you need, just PM me.
Steve

 

[marshmellow]

I want to learn to shave with a shavette because a shavette can be convenient during a travel. I also want to seriously try a straight razor, but I haven't yet made time to prepare the tools necessary for straight razor maintenance. I wish someone was selling those tools at amazon.

 

[marshmellow]

I tried this shavette again. It's difficult to control. It's difficult to deliver appropriate amount of force due to lack of control.

 

[marshmellow]

I tried it several times again. I learned how to handle it. Since the handle is not a square but a rectangle, I had to grip it vertically or horizontally in order to maximize stability. A straight razor's handle is a square which is easy to handle.

It's possible to learn to handle it stably, but I don't recommend it for a beginner. Someone who's not well versed in straight razor shaving is going to pay one's blood for the learning. You want to learn the lessons the easy way, not the hard way.

I ordered black widow shavette from amazon. This might be easier to control.

 

[steveclarkus]

I tried it several times again. I learned how to handle it. Since the handle is not a square but a rectangle, I had to grip it vertically or horizontally in order to maximize stability. A straight razor's handle is a square which is easy to handle.

It's possible to learn to handle it stably, but I don't recommend it for a beginner. Someone who's not well versed in straight razor shaving is going to pay one's blood for the learning. You want to learn the lessons the easy way, not the hard way.

I ordered black widow shavette from amazon. This might be easier to control.

Looks good

 

[Slash McCoy]

I want to learn to shave with a shavette because a shavette can be convenient during a travel. I also want to seriously try a straight razor, but I haven't yet made time to prepare the tools necessary for straight razor maintenance. I wish someone was selling those tools at amazon.

Acrylic should be available on amazon but if not, TAP Plastics sells it on their site. Get 3/4" x 3" x 12" for film and for balsa. You can use the film one for every grade of film so you can get by with just one for film. You will need three for the balsa. You can get film on amazon. You can get diamond paste on amazon. Pretty sure you can find balsa on amazon but your local hobby shop is better. You can get a leather strop on amazon. What else do you need? Nobody is going to put a kit together for you. Takes too much time and the markup would be prohibitive. This is a DIY thing but the ingredients are readily available if you just go for it.

 

[marshmellow]

This is a DIY thing but the ingredients are readily available if you just go for it.

I guess I will need a small saw. How would you carry them when you travel or when you move to a new house? A travel case would be a challenge.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I guess I will need a small saw. How would you carry them when you travel or when you move to a new house? A travel case would be a challenge.

Simple enough to build a case, right? And don't travel with them. Maybe with just the .1u balsa. Make a case out of PVC pipe if you aren't comfortable with the idea of working with wood. This is not a particularly challenging problem if you want to do it. Nobody is going to do it for you, unless you are ready to shell out $300 or so per day for the labor. Just think of it as a side track of a nice hobby. Gitter done!

As for the balsa and the acrylic you can buy cut to order. Like I said, order 12" x 3", at 3/4" thick. Done. The balsa you can cut with your pocketknife and a straight edge. It is very soft. To make a nice fitted case, yeah a dovetail saw and some wood chisels, and glue, and wood, and you are ready to rock. I suggest 3/4" plywood for the outer case and 1/4" plywood for the dividers, if you want all in one case. Or 1x12 clear pine. For individual cases just plane (you will want a jack plane and furniture scraper for this) down a face of a 2x6. Cut two 15" lengths. Create a pocket in both pieces for the completed balsa strop using drill and chisels, Dremel, router, whatever. Just do it. Hinge them together, add a clasp of some sort, line the cavity with something, smooth, sand, varnish the outside, and you got a nifty case for your traveling balsa strop. For short trips you don't need it. For long trips, carry a shavette.

Sometimes you just gotta DO things. One step at a time. This particular thing would maybe be a challenge for a man with no arms, I guess. A Blind man or a Deaf man could do it. A man of impaired mental faculties could do it with some safety supervision. A hipster could do it. A yankee could do it. A caveman could do it. My little granddaughter could do it. But only if they wanted to do it. And you don't need to do it if you don't want to do it. Just store them on a shelf under cover. Done.

Suddenly I am inspired. I have probably 30 various hones, balsa strops, acrylic plates for lapping film, etc and I think I could really use a nice case with dividers for all that stuff. I should have pics to post in a week or so. I think I got enough stuff to make it without a trip to Home Depot.

 

[Fatboyming]

I have one of these shavettes, The good thing about them is because they are made of stainless steel you can modify them. I sanded and polished the edges to make it smoother to load the blade. Of course being a shavette the the shave angle is different compared to a straight. By this I mean that there is very little blade exposure and this combined with the thickness of the blade holder means that the shave angle has to be higher than with a straight. However I like low angle shaves so I took the shavette to the stones and “honed" it to thin down the edge of the lip of the blade holder. The experiment was a success and the shavette now shaves smoother and more like a straight. Maybe not a good modification for a beginner because a lower angle means a keener shave. Either way, modified or unmodified these shavettes are effective, manoeuvrable and cheap. One of the great bargains of shaving..

 

[marshmellow]

I can shave at low angles with the shavette without any modification to it. Black widow shavette exposes 1.5mm of razor blade. More exposure means lower angles.