- Thread starter
- #21
Thank you. I made the plunge and ordered.
Just how different is a straight razor from a shavette?
- Thread starter Dominic
- Start date
Ooooo! What'd you get? What'd you get?
- Thread starter
- #23
I ordered two. One is a 5/8" Ralf Aust hollow ground, and the other is a restored vintage 5/8" Mappin & Webb near wedge. Thought I would try two different styles.
You may find the near wedge is alot like a shavette in feel.
Hopefully you will like the adventure either way.
I agree I believe you will like the adventure. While I understand your focus is on actual shave feel and quality, and not razor maintenance... I find that the razor maintenance translates over to shave feel and quality. There’s nothing quite like taking a 150 year old tool, likely neglected and unused for most of its life, and bringing it back to a tool that will give closer shaves than all mainstream modern shaving tools. Especially when you take up honing yourself.
FWIW, a set of suitable Arkansas hones (soft, hard, surgical black) can be had for ~60 bucks. Not the finest in hones, but suitable to get a great edge. If you’re bring back a dull blade you will want something courser than an Arkansas stone. I use a cheap synthetic stone for the really course bevel set on the super dull razors. A suitable strop can be had for not too much. You really can get into SR maintenance without dropping too much cash.
FWIW, a set of suitable Arkansas hones (soft, hard, surgical black) can be had for ~60 bucks. Not the finest in hones, but suitable to get a great edge. If you’re bring back a dull blade you will want something courser than an Arkansas stone. I use a cheap synthetic stone for the really course bevel set on the super dull razors. A suitable strop can be had for not too much. You really can get into SR maintenance without dropping too much cash.
- Thread starter
- #26
I'll have to find those deals. When it comes to honing, it looked like it was all expensive (what I saw so far), with the exception of using lapping film.
Late to the party, but back to the original question, I find that shavettes represent more of an angular approach, whereas straights in general are more fluid. By this, it's sort of like seeking to render a realistic sculpture of a head or face, angular normally followed by an effort to arrive at a smoother, more rounded or realistic result. Not that the first is necessarily to be forsworn as an end in itself; but to follow the analogy of both honing a straight and the polishing of the finishing stones involved in the process, the more fluid or smoother approach is to be preferred in this regard.
Perhaps it is also a question of age or facial type. Those seeking a more chiseled look might benefit from a shavette, whereas those seeking a smoother, rounder look might benefit from a straight honed to achieve such an effect.
As far as ergonomics are concerned, I think a shavette leads to a straight, and not the other way around.
Perhaps it is also a question of age or facial type. Those seeking a more chiseled look might benefit from a shavette, whereas those seeking a smoother, rounder look might benefit from a straight honed to achieve such an effect.
As far as ergonomics are concerned, I think a shavette leads to a straight, and not the other way around.
Without going into detail, I’m going to ditto what @rbscebu posted. It won’t take long to learn to hone using film. I’ve been using it for years. I think it might be a good idea to get a shavette to use while you are learning to hone. You can get a good Parker SR-1 for about $25 from Amazon and a box of Derby Pro blades for cheap. Shavettes are incredibly sharp but if you dull the corners of the blade on a mirror and keep a tight angle and stretch your skin, you will be fine. It is confusing at first but we’ll worth the trip. Good luck.
This. In my experience this applies equally to soap choice - some soaps are stand-out for beginners, offering that crucial bit extra protection or slickness, but once your lathering and shaving skills are where they need to be, you can get a good shave off almost anything. Half-DE shavette, bath soap, whatever.
If it’s in good condition and well honed, that Mappin & Webb should be a dream.
Bit of a counterpoint to the above to specifically address using a self-honed straight.
I went down the rabbit hole of stones, strops and a few straight razors shortly after starting to use an open blade razor. This was ill-advised as it turned out I don't really have the patience for achieving the kind of edge I need: I head shave, and a straight razor that works fine on the face can stick or skip over the denser stubble on the scalp.
I've honed all of my razors myself & they pass all tests with flying colours. They work great on my face, smooth and comfortable. I've used The Method a couple of times, or a close approximation, and got an edge that works for head shaving - but it didn't last long. Possibly my stropping technique is not up to scratch; maybe my shaving technique is poor; maybe the razors themselves won't hold an edge. Regardless, whatever the cause I don't want to have to hone every 8-10 shaves.
I think my point is that if your beard is dense or you are tempted to head shave, your self-honed straight razor may not be up to it (I'm prepared to be flamed on this!). But in this kind of case you might be better off sticking with something like a Feather AC SS.
I went down the rabbit hole of stones, strops and a few straight razors shortly after starting to use an open blade razor. This was ill-advised as it turned out I don't really have the patience for achieving the kind of edge I need: I head shave, and a straight razor that works fine on the face can stick or skip over the denser stubble on the scalp.
I've honed all of my razors myself & they pass all tests with flying colours. They work great on my face, smooth and comfortable. I've used The Method a couple of times, or a close approximation, and got an edge that works for head shaving - but it didn't last long. Possibly my stropping technique is not up to scratch; maybe my shaving technique is poor; maybe the razors themselves won't hold an edge. Regardless, whatever the cause I don't want to have to hone every 8-10 shaves.
I think my point is that if your beard is dense or you are tempted to head shave, your self-honed straight razor may not be up to it (I'm prepared to be flamed on this!). But in this kind of case you might be better off sticking with something like a Feather AC SS.
There may be something too that. I just got my nephew into straight shaving (from cartridges) and he is finding he needs to strop between passes on his head. The two razors I sent him were both method edges, one of which I would call exceptionally sharp, even by method standards. He doesn't shave frequently, so we're still kind of figuring out what his edge maintenance schedule is going to need to be. I did send him a .1µ balsa strop but I suspect he may need the other two as well. I also suggest a good shavette, but I think he'd rather use a straight.
Never used a shavette. But I used a DE razor for 20 years.A real( vintage? ) blade is smooth.
I'm into knives and knife sharpening. it's a hobby to me. Be it a pocket knife,cooking knife or a straight razor.
I like hohning and stropping. Been doing that for over 30 years. If you hate taking care of your razor I would stick with a safety razor.
But the shave of a good sharp straight is way smoother than that of a safety razor.
I'm into knives and knife sharpening. it's a hobby to me. Be it a pocket knife,cooking knife or a straight razor.
I like hohning and stropping. Been doing that for over 30 years. If you hate taking care of your razor I would stick with a safety razor.
But the shave of a good sharp straight is way smoother than that of a safety razor.
