Shavette And Barber Razor Enthusiast (SABRE) group
- Thread starter TheVez2
- Start date
Very interesting Rudy - I’ve seen those before but been put off by the grip so I’m keen to hear how you get on with it.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?
And I’d call that a Scissor Grip...
The tiny length takes some getting used to. I'm already complaining that the Weck Bantam is too short compared to its big brother, the Sextoblade.
After yesterday's shave with the diminutive shavette, I had the idea this would be a good single-handed razor, so that's what I tried today.
I succeeded in shaving using only my right hand, but it was cumbersome and awkward, and some motions were just not doable. I'll stick to using both hands when shaving with a straight. The results, according to the alum block, were no irritation on cheeks, and a bit on the neck. I had more trouble on the cheeks, so I would have expected the opposite.
I don't know if this razor will get promoted from oddity to regular use though.
Thanks for being the pathfinder with this one.
Maybe this razor is just intended for hairdressers- I read an interview with Iwasaki in which he explained that that the “shorty” straight razors were introduced for the new wave of Japanese women barbers in the 1950s who generally had smaller hands than the men.
I agree with you about the Bantam too - it’s the same size as the Weck Hair Shaper and feels annoyingly small in the hand although it’s definitely intended for men’s self-shaving.
Yesterday it was the Silver Blade with a Schick Proline on shave #13 - I love the feel and performance of this razor.
For me it has perfect weight, perfect grip, perfect balance and perfect head profile.
Certainly the Feather DX and Kai Captain are more sturdily constructed but the Kamisori Silver Blade is definitely my favourite AC razor:
And this morning the X-Razor with a fresh Bolzano:
Very surprised that due to total carelessness I cut my cheek with the first stroke.
Ha ha - wake up Marcus wake up!!
Of course the rest of the shave was magnificent.
For me it has perfect weight, perfect grip, perfect balance and perfect head profile.
Certainly the Feather DX and Kai Captain are more sturdily constructed but the Kamisori Silver Blade is definitely my favourite AC razor:
And this morning the X-Razor with a fresh Bolzano:
Very surprised that due to total carelessness I cut my cheek with the first stroke.
Ha ha - wake up Marcus wake up!!
Of course the rest of the shave was magnificent.
Aug 22: New Shavette - Spilo Magic Razor Clone
After almost a year of fixed and replaceable blade straight razor shaving, I finally got to try what is probably the most sold shavette on the planet, the Spilo Magic Razor. This is the original half-blade shavette, and the one that practically every barber uses. When someone who's not on B&B says "I bought a shavette", this is the one they got 9 times out of 10.
Blade insertion is dangerous as is, probably due to the lack of QC on this $2 product. I'm going to tweak the little retaining flaps and that should fix the problem.
This is an angry little beast. Lots of exposure and blade flex, always ready to bite you. I can see why people hate shavettes if this is their first and only exposure to this type of razor. This is a face peeler if your technique is off.
What's my opinion? I absolutely LOVE the thing. As my technique evolves, I find that I'm liking high exposure razors, and this one fits the bill. It's loud, and has the same raspy tone as my big 7/8 Extra Hollow Garibaldi straight razor. I felt completely at ease shaving with it, and enjoyed the shave immensely.
I'm ---> this <--- close to joining @mjclark in the X-Razor Owner's Club (X-ROC)
If you love the Magic and the Strong Leopard then the X-Razor is definitely for you Rudy.
Ha ha - come over to X-ROC where our motto is “Good Technique Is Obligatory”
Another new shavette for me this morning:
The Tondeo TM
There’s a thread about these razors here:
Any Tondeo TM users?
It has a much heavier head than most of the Sifter style razors with a curved profile and stops at either end of the blade to prevent digging in.
So it’s got a good balance and shaving is smooth and intuitive.
The TM takes proprietary Tondeo TCR blades which are 40mm long (Artist Club is 50mm, DE/Injector is 38mm) and are a shorter version of the Cabinet blades.
The blades are rigid like injector blades and easily as sharp as Artist Club.
Here in UK the blades are £6 for a pack of 10 which equals 20 edges so half the price of AC and injector blades.
I’m very impressed with this shavette.
Although it has small Sifter style scales they are sturdy and well made.
And unlike the Sifter razors the Tondeo is satisfyingly heavy and well balanced.
It has great head geometry and spectacularly sharp rigid blades.
An excellent shavette!
The Tondeo TM
There’s a thread about these razors here:
Any Tondeo TM users?
It has a much heavier head than most of the Sifter style razors with a curved profile and stops at either end of the blade to prevent digging in.
So it’s got a good balance and shaving is smooth and intuitive.
The TM takes proprietary Tondeo TCR blades which are 40mm long (Artist Club is 50mm, DE/Injector is 38mm) and are a shorter version of the Cabinet blades.
The blades are rigid like injector blades and easily as sharp as Artist Club.
Here in UK the blades are £6 for a pack of 10 which equals 20 edges so half the price of AC and injector blades.
I’m very impressed with this shavette.
Although it has small Sifter style scales they are sturdy and well made.
And unlike the Sifter razors the Tondeo is satisfyingly heavy and well balanced.
It has great head geometry and spectacularly sharp rigid blades.
An excellent shavette!
Second shave with the Tondeo TM confirms how much I like it.
It’s exciting (like with the Chinese Cabinet Blade razors) to find a new razor with a new blade format.
The TM weighs more than twice as much as the Dovo Shavette and the rigid 40mm TCR half-blade in the heavy convex head gives a really smooth comfortable smart and long lasting shave.
It’s exciting (like with the Chinese Cabinet Blade razors) to find a new razor with a new blade format.
The TM weighs more than twice as much as the Dovo Shavette and the rigid 40mm TCR half-blade in the heavy convex head gives a really smooth comfortable smart and long lasting shave.
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I got 9 smart comfortable longlasting shaves from the Tondeo TCR half-blade in the Tondeo TM shavette.
I’m very impressed with this razor:
I’m very impressed with this razor:
Focus Slim this morning with a Bolzano:
This is another superb shavette and a real contrast to the X-Razor.
The Focus Slim is very smooth and forgiving.
It looks and feels great too.
This is another superb shavette and a real contrast to the X-Razor.
The Focus Slim is very smooth and forgiving.
It looks and feels great too.
After a while later, I realized that I could use an injector blade in my Parker Shavettes. Then, I tried the same injector blade in some other razors and something different showed up in the Shearsdirect Kamisori. There is actually a slot for injector blades. It keeps the blade in place and blade exposure drops down a bit, giving a safer shave.
http://i.hizliresim.com/lZ6njJ.jpg
Brilliant! That is an outstanding discovery.After a while later, I realized that I could use an injector blade in my Parker Shavettes. Then, I tried the same injector blade in some other razors and something different showed up in the Shearsdirect Kamisori. There is actually a slot for injector blades. It keeps the blade in place and blade exposure drops down a bit, giving a safer shave.
http://i.hizliresim.com/lZ6njJ.jpg
I’ll check my Kai Captain when I get home and see if it has something similar.
I guess the fact that Schick make Proline 38mm injector blades WITHOUT a key on the dispenser points to the fact that most of the AC razors are also intended for use with the smaller injector blades.
Even the tabs on the Kamisori Silver Blade will take a small injector as well as the AC blades.
I failed to check it with my Kai Captain. This may indeed be a feature copied directly from it.
Feather AC's don't have that slot AFAIK. I knew AC type razors would work with injector (mini hairshaper) blades too but realized the slot when Shearsdirect failed to align blade properly at the tip.
Thankyou for this - it’s a real discovery!
And yep my Kai Captain also has the slot but it’s shallower to compensate for the smaller blade exposure on the KC compared to the ShearsDirect.
Ironically my Schick Proline kami doesn’t have the slot although the Proline B blades are 38mm.
So the injector blades are intended to be mounted centrally leaving a lot of the razor head on either side.
I wonder how that will affect the shave?
Thanks! I tried this today and it was ok. No nicks, no scratches. I guess I didn't need that tip part and it was definitely safer while riding close to ears.
Amazing! I want to try it now
Coolcut 9 aka Monsieur Charles for me today:
This razor is good looking, hefty and feels great in the hand.
Along with the Strong Leopard 77 it’s also one of the few shavettes which genuinely feels like shaving with a straight.
I used a Personna PTFE Injector Blade on its second shave - the Coolcut 9 cutouts inside the head are only compatible with Personna injector blades not the vintage Schicks - and the shave was a little rough but very satisfying.
Those Personna PTFE Injector Blades are very quirky for me - they don’t work well in the Supply Provision Injector but they work brilliantly in the Focus Slim shavette.
Same with the Personna GEM stainless SE blades - rubbish shaves from the ClogPruf and G-Bar but outstanding in the MMOC and Streamline.
This razor is good looking, hefty and feels great in the hand.
Along with the Strong Leopard 77 it’s also one of the few shavettes which genuinely feels like shaving with a straight.
I used a Personna PTFE Injector Blade on its second shave - the Coolcut 9 cutouts inside the head are only compatible with Personna injector blades not the vintage Schicks - and the shave was a little rough but very satisfying.
Those Personna PTFE Injector Blades are very quirky for me - they don’t work well in the Supply Provision Injector but they work brilliantly in the Focus Slim shavette.
Same with the Personna GEM stainless SE blades - rubbish shaves from the ClogPruf and G-Bar but outstanding in the MMOC and Streamline.
