Shavette And Barber Razor Enthusiast (SABRE) group

[rudyt]

First shave with my new Universal Shavette tonight.
Loaded up with a Polsilver SI half blade (was a bit tight with a full blade).

The Universal full-DE blade shavette is magically smooth.

Don't worry about the tightness with a full blade. Since the retaining piece is a U, if they made it wider to be snug all the way down with a full blade, a half blade would be loose. You don't need to push the U so it's all the way in - once it binds, the blade is plenty snug.

 

[Rory1262]

Turned back to the Holy Black razor today. I made a couple of small mistakes and it nipped me.
I am finding that grip is an issue. It's somewhat difficult to maintain an angle because of the razor's weight, and that's where my mistakes arise -- that and I'm still developing feel, especially going ATG. I'm also finding it difficult to get every little spot, and that too is contributing.

But nonetheless, good results.

 

[mjclark]

Woot woot! I love it when I find a new razor so here’s the Kamisori Silver Blade razor which uses the Artist Club format:

The head slides open to take the blade and is secured by a spring on the spine just like the Monsieur Charles.
It’s got the same blade exposure as the Feather DX and feels really well balanced and manouverable like the Kai Captain.

What a winner! There’s a full write up on this new-to-me razor here:
Kamisori Silver Blade Artist Club Razor

 

[Rory1262]

Took it easy with The Holy Black today...two passes, didn't get greedy, not even a pinprick.
Sehr gut.

 

[mjclark]

Took it easy with The Holy Black today...two passes, didn't get greedy, not even a pinprick.
Sehr gut.

Brilliant! Shavettes are sooooo good for cultivating good technique.

Once I started using shavettes regularly all my other shaves with straights and safety razors became better too.

 

[Rory1262]

New acquisition. When I first went in search of a Weck, this was what I wanted. I love the military history behind the U.S. Medical Corps issue. I'm also delighted that the guard is stamped with "Brooklyn" -- since the Weck company moved out of the borough in the early '50s, that means this dates from the Korean War at the latest, and quite likely WWII. I gather that they were still in production for the Vietnam War.

 

[albsat]

As much as I love to shave with a shavette, I can't seem to find time recently.
However I had received a Dovo shavette as a nice gesture from @kluber some months ago. Thank you @kluber and sorry to take so long to do a review.

Well, I think a lot has been said about a Dovo shavette. It comes with different adapters and I used the one with half De blade.

It is a light shavette, something against my preference but surprisingly I got a great shave. Seems that keeping it flat with the skin works really nice for me. My only remark is I wish it had a 1 cm longer tang and tail for the way I use the shavette.

A really nice shave today. Shavette shaving leaves my skin always relaxed after the post shave.

P. S. I am enjoying so much my broken in Proraso boar brush. After 3 - 4 months of using it, it was about time to get it soft. Great match with a Proraso soap.

 

[albsat]

Could not stop the trend of yesterday . I used a Weck sextoblade today.

It's never a BBS with a shavette for me, but I get a comfortable shave and great post feeling. No nicks ever with a sextoblade after using the blade at least 3-4 times.

The Weck with its guard is a nice combo.

 

[mjclark]

X-Razor for me this morning:

I’m beginning to appreciate how cleverly this razor is designed - the catch at the end of the head for lifting it out of the scales also prevents you from making an angle with your face where the exposed blade corner could dig in.

Also I am towel stropping the blade before and after shaving and palm stropping it just before the shave.
This has got the half-Bolzano up to shave #6 and it’s still going strong.

I’m impressed by how much stropping is extending blade performance and I’ve also realised how much I love the X-Razor!

 

[Rory1262]

Could not stop the trend of yesterday . I used a Weck sextoblade today.

It's never a BBS with a shavette for me, but I get a comfortable shave and great post feeling. No nicks ever with a sextoblade after using the blade at least 3-4 times.

The Weck with its guard is a nice combo.

Agreed. Had a nice outing today with my Weck Medical Corps and a fresh Fromm blade, plus the guard.
There were a few spots left to touch up, but it was comfortable.

 

[Rory1262]

I experimented with Cremo today while using my Holy Black razor.
I wanted to see how visibility would work instead of seeing lather.
I think it helped, as did Cremo's slickness.

 

[rudyt]

This Shavette Keeps On Getting Better

The Strong Leopard 74-A full-DE bladed shavette really grows on you as skill level increases. I'm starting to like the extra exposure it has over my other three DE shavettes, the Universal, Coolcut and Sedef. Here's what I said about this shavette on Oct 13, 2017:

Went with the full-DE blade shavette today and here's a razor I just don't like. It's way more bitey than my Wecks, which are already bitey enough. Maybe I need to try a new blade instead of one with 35 shaves on it. mjclark on B&B says this razor has much more blade exposure and raw blade feel than his Italian Universal shavette, which is uber-smooth and forgiving. I might get a Universal one day if I can snag one on eBay. I have no cuts or irritation from the shave, I just didn't enjoy anything about it today.

Now I just plain love it. I actually went for a 5 pass shave today just because I did not want the shave to end. No alum bite whatsoever, and more importantly, none of the sentiments I expressed about this razor last October.

My 5 passes of lather were courtesy of MWF and the Berkeley 46. I'm taking a run through my badgers, and while I don't love them, I do like this one. Who says a small brush can't hold lather.

 

[mjclark]

This Shavette Keeps On Getting Better

The Strong Leopard 74-A full-DE bladed shavette really grows on you as skill level increases. I'm starting to like the extra exposure it has over my other three DE shavettes, the Universal, Coolcut and Sedef. Here's what I said about this shavette on Oct 13, 2017:
Now I just plain love it. I actually went for a 5 pass shave today just because I did not want the shave to end. No alum bite whatsoever, and more importantly, none of the sentiments I expressed about this razor last October.

My 5 passes of lather were courtesy of MWF and the Berkeley 46. I'm taking a run through my badgers, and while I don't love them, I do like this one. Who says a small brush can't hold lather.

Amazing Rudy!
I’ve had a similar experience of initially not liking a razor but then coming back to it and loving it with the Supply Provision injector and the ER Streamline.

When I first used the Strong Leopard I absolutely loved it though and thought it could be a Chinese rival to Artist Club.
But I haven’t come back to it since then.
Now your post has renewed my interest in it!

 

[rudyt]

When I first used the Strong Leopard I absolutely loved it though and thought it could be a Chinese rival to Artist Club.
But I haven’t come back to it since then.

Note that the I used the DE version of the Strong Leopard, not the "Chinese Artist Club" version.

Now you've sparked me to try the 77-A again. I'm always using the two flimsy plastic razors with the cabinet blades, the narrow one and the wider one, as well as the heavy all-metal version with the paisley cutouts in the handle, and haven't touched the 77-A in probably 6 months.

 

[mjclark]

Note that the I used the DE version of the Strong Leopard, not the "Chinese Artist Club" version.

Now you've sparked me to try the 77-A again. I'm always using the two flimsy plastic razors with the cabinet blades, the narrow one and the wider one, as well as the heavy all-metal version with the paisley cutouts in the handle, and haven't touched the 77-A in probably 6 months.

Yes!
Ha ha - I got so caught up in the Artist Club version that it was all I could think about.
Strong Leopard for the win!!
Now I really want to try the 74-A again too

 

[rudyt]

For today's shave, I revisited my long blade Strong Leopard 77-A shavette to see if I liked it as much as the short bladed 74-A. This one has a lot less exposure than it's DE-bladed cousin, so it didn't shave much different than my all-metal Antelope bladed shavette.

I did slice my finger good when transferring the blade, but it was completely my fault (inattention).

 

[Rory1262]

Great outing with the CJB today and a different cream, Kiss My Face.
Sometimes I resort to a DE or cart razor to clean up a few missed spots.
That was not necessary today.

 

[rudyt]

Great shave today with the Sedef shavette; a nimble little toy. Exposure-wise, it sits between the low exposure Universal or Coolcut 4, and the high-exposure Strong leopard 74-A. The increased aggressiveness over the ultra-safe Universal, coupled with the almost weightlessness of the Sedef means a little more care must be taken when shaving. That being said, it doesn't feel in any way dangerous.

 

[Rory1262]

Went back to the CJB today, and again I got results as good as with any other razor I can think of.
I'm really liking it with the ProGuard blade.
Its maneuverability is a strong point.

 

[rudyt]

New Trigger Finger Kamisori Shavette

Check out the picture of the new shavette I just received. It's kamisori style, so no hinged scales, is super short and stubby, takes either a full or half DE blade, and has a trigger finger hole for stabilisation and control. Pretty neat, and only $4 shipped from AliExpress. You know I can't resist a sub-$10 shavette no matter how many I own ;-)

Let's call the shave on this one interesting. Low to moderate exposure, so it's not very dangerous, and being so short, manoeuvrability is off the charts. Sounds perfect, right? The stubby length is both it's biggest asset and annoyance. My hand is always contacting the skin. This annoys me more than it should, so in all but first WTG pass, I wound up holding the razor closer to the end and more like a stick, ignoring the finger hole completely.

I'm going to need to unlearn the classic straight grips and learn some new ones. Looking forward to it. This razor has the potential of being much easier than a traditional folding straight of being used with only the dominant hand.

For anyone that's interested, it's available on eBay here

If anyone is still reading, do you know what this type of razor is called, or if not, can you come up with a less awkward name than Trigger Finger Kamisori Shavette?