I bet it looks really nice, to look at, next to your SV.
Shavette recommendations for rookies
- Thread starter Pompis
- Start date
I'm throwing my .02 cents in lol. I actually started with straights and moved to de and a couple Weck Sextoblades. The ac blades like others have said are sharper, the straights are more maintenance. Each is an experience is the way I look at it, and eventually most razor styles will be tried. The Kamisori Feather ac shavette looks very interesting and is on my short list. Just decide what your current goal is and go from there. Fwiw I have drawn more blood from my vintage de's than my straights. I also haven't completely had the most comfortable shaves from my wecks compared to my straights but am still learning.
I'm a rookie and am using a Kai Captain shavette. I would recommend it or similar. I like the Kai Titan ProTouch guarded blades.
Hello Pompis
Like you, I first stuck my head down the rabbit hole of SR shaving by weighing up the various shavette types with an eye on a future transition to an SR proper. I started off with a Böker Barberette (their version of a Dovo shavette) which can use both half DE and half long blades (Dovo) held in separate plastic sleeves inserted in a bent stainless steel holder; the longer blades give a shaving experience that is closer to that of a straight razor, in terms of length of the cutting blade. I went for one with stag horn scales (now only produced in synthetic horn, but ones with genuine horn scales are still available on the market) and would recommend lighter scales in horn, wood, synthetic, etc rather than metal scales, the latter being a bit top heavy when starting out. Half DE blades in a shavette can tend to bite, especially when developing your personal shaving technique - I had also started out with a cheap Candure swing lock/clasp shavette which only takes half DE blades and had the additional disadvantage of heavy metal scales; I still use this in rotation, having adapted my technique in taming the beast - it makes for a good travel razor, in buying DE blades at my destination and the razor being cheap enough to lose/have stolen. If you ever fall further down the branch rabbit hole of kamisori, ring razors using half DE blades in a swing lock/clasp are fun.
I would suggest that you try at least one razor that accepted DE blades (usually half-blades) and AC blades (Artist Club style 50mm long) as they are the most common formats and will give you a sense for using both short and long blades. Recommending any specific shavette in either category is harder as it somewhat depends on your commitment and budget level, and it is often hard to know what you like before you try it.
I have not seen what I would consider to be counterfeit shavettes. I believe Feather created the 50mm long Artist Club and their razors are of good quality, so choosing either their SR or DX model would be a good choice. Kai Kasho or Captain uses a similar design to the Feather AC with a mostly cosmetic changes, and is also of good quality. The CJB or various models on AliExpress are a step down in fit and finish but hold the AC blade in a similar way and are a inexpensive way to try.
There are different DE blade holder designs. The ones cut from sheet metal which clamp the blade like holding it between two popsicle sticks are the most inexpensive and can be a bit fiddly. I think they are harder to use, but not so much harder that they should be avoided even by a rookie shaver. However the aforementioned Focus Slim Al is better as well as the ones like the colorful scaled ones seen on websites like Maggards (as well other places) that have a wedge shaped face and clamp the half-DE blade much like the Feather/Kai/CJB holds an AC blade.
I have not seen what I would consider to be counterfeit shavettes. I believe Feather created the 50mm long Artist Club and their razors are of good quality, so choosing either their SR or DX model would be a good choice. Kai Kasho or Captain uses a similar design to the Feather AC with a mostly cosmetic changes, and is also of good quality. The CJB or various models on AliExpress are a step down in fit and finish but hold the AC blade in a similar way and are a inexpensive way to try.
There are different DE blade holder designs. The ones cut from sheet metal which clamp the blade like holding it between two popsicle sticks are the most inexpensive and can be a bit fiddly. I think they are harder to use, but not so much harder that they should be avoided even by a rookie shaver. However the aforementioned Focus Slim Al is better as well as the ones like the colorful scaled ones seen on websites like Maggards (as well other places) that have a wedge shaped face and clamp the half-DE blade much like the Feather/Kai/CJB holds an AC blade.
Well first of all I recommend staying away from half DE blades. Maybe it is just my preference, but they don't work so well for me because they are so short.
For a beginner I recommend a blade that isn't so aggressive. So that would be the Dorco blades and the Shears Direct blades. These are both made for the Feather Artist Club razors. These blades are very mild and shaving with them is much like shaving with a regular straight razor. There are *MUCH* sharper blades of course, but you don't want to try to learn with them, as I can tell you from first hand experience.
As often happens I get a hankering to begin my SR journey and find a thread. By the end of the thread I’m overwhelmed. Maybe I need to research after morning coffee and not afternoon beer? One day I’ll find a “how to succeed in SR shaving for $100 that won’t make you want to spend $1,000 two weeks later”? Probably doesn’t exist lol. As always I applaud the skills you folks have and share. I will perhaps join your ranks someday
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rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
As often happens I get a hankering to begin my SR journey and find a thread. By the end of the thread I’m overwhelmed. Maybe I need to research after morning coffee and not afternoon beer? One day I’ll find a “how to succeed in SR shaving for $100 that won’t make you want to spend $1,000 two weeks later”? Probably doesn’t exist lol. As always I applaud the skills you folks have and share. I will perhaps join your ranks someday
Traditional Straight Razor Shaving Instructions for Beginners
The attached are instructions for beginners in the gentlemanly art of traditional straight razor shaving. Updated instructions will be posted in this thread as they are developed. To keep this thread reasonably clean and easy to read, please post any comments/suggestions in this thread and ask...
www.badgerandblade.com
If you are frugal, you could spend less than a couple of hundred on your SR setup, and be done. You'd only need to replace soap every six months, your balsa strops every couple of years, and your brush every couple of decades.
Most of the people on these boards, myself inculded, aren't here to save money though. We are here to enjoy shaving, and happy to pay for the pleasure!
This is the way. A shavette is going to be less forgiving than a straight, so if straight is the goals, you're better off starting there. If you want a shavette to learn and use a shavette then great, but if you specifically want to do it to move on to straights, I'd say skip it. Shavettes are going to be more difficult to learn with than a good straight.
To be clear, almost everything in this post is talking about shavettes which are very different from straights.As often happens I get a hankering to begin my SR journey and find a thread. By the end of the thread I’m overwhelmed. Maybe I need to research after morning coffee and not afternoon beer? One day I’ll find a “how to succeed in SR shaving for $100 that won’t make you want to spend $1,000 two weeks later”? Probably doesn’t exist lol. As always I applaud the skills you folks have and share. I will perhaps join your ranks someday
Get yourself a new Boker or Ralph Aust or Portland Razor CO, and a strop. You won't have to do anything but strop for 6-18 months with it. Plenty of time to learn. Aft which you can mail it for sharpening back to them (or someone here). Or learn to sharpen on your own, but you'll have plenty of time if having to do none of that to learn.
What you read on this forum is people who're taking their hobby to the max because they enjoy it. It's not even remotely necessary
Pasted balsas are probably great, but most have used straights without them for years just using a normal cheap leather strop available from wherever you buy your razor.
I dislike DE blades in a shavette. They are just too short for my liking.
Inexpensive FAC shavettes can be bought such as CJB and Shears Direct. I have seen quite a few other in the last year also.
Your best bet for learning to shave with a shavette are the Dorco and Shears Direct blades, followed by the guarded Feathers.
Forget trying to learn with Kais or unguarded Feathers.
Inexpensive FAC shavettes can be bought such as CJB and Shears Direct. I have seen quite a few other in the last year also.
Your best bet for learning to shave with a shavette are the Dorco and Shears Direct blades, followed by the guarded Feathers.
Forget trying to learn with Kais or unguarded Feathers.
My contribution of 2 cents.
I use the 3: 1/2 DE, AC blade, Straight.
80% Straight
15% 1/2 DE
5% AC blade.
1/2 DE requires much more skill in shaving technique than the other two.
The Straight requires more honing skill than the other two.
When someone asks me for advice on going straight, my answer is always the same. Starts with AC blade with protection (proguard, protouch). Next steep AC Blade without protection. then choose the path to develop honing skills (straight) or improve your shaving technique skills (1/2 DE) or both...
I use the 3: 1/2 DE, AC blade, Straight.
80% Straight
15% 1/2 DE
5% AC blade.
1/2 DE requires much more skill in shaving technique than the other two.
The Straight requires more honing skill than the other two
.When someone asks me for advice on going straight, my answer is always the same. Starts with AC blade with protection (proguard, protouch). Next steep AC Blade without protection. then choose the path to develop honing skills (straight) or improve your shaving technique skills (1/2 DE) or both...
I never had much luck with a shavette until I tried one with a plastic insert to hold the blade. Two I have used to good effect are a Focus R21 and a Dovo Shavette. With the Focus R21, I like the Egyptian Lord dedicated "saloon" half-blades. These are fairly sharp, along the lines of Sharks. With the Dovo Shavette, I like a duller DE blade snapped in half, a Turkish-made Lord or a Solingen Timor. Shaves are really good, no weepers, alum burn, etc. And I say this as an experienced user and honer of straights.
I’m interested to know why you prefer half-DE to AC razors (once you are proficient enough). I have never tried a half-DE, but some of my razors will accommodate them as well as AC blades. Is it something about the DE blade that you prefer, or the razors that use them, or is it just that they can shave equally well and the cost of AC blades is much higher?My contribution of 2 cents.
I use the 3: 1/2 DE, AC blade, Straight.
80% Straight
15% 1/2 DE
5% AC blade.
1/2 DE requires much more skill in shaving technique than the other two.
The Straight requires more honing skill than the other two
When someone asks me for advice on going straight, my answer is always the same. Starts with AC blade with protection (proguard, protouch). Next steep AC Blade without protection. then choose the path to develop honing skills (straight) or improve your shaving technique skills (1/2 DE) or both...
From my window, the ½ DE shave and the straight are two different paths. One is not better than the other, just different. The AC blade is in the center.
I use the ½ DE more than the AC blade because I find it much more demanding (for me) in shaving technique than the AC which I find AC blade much closer to the Straight with its longer blade, thicker than the blade ½ OD, shorter in length, more flexible. 1/2 DE is used to perfect my shaving technique because it is an uncompromising blade compared to the Straight.
To exaggerate, I would say that with ½ DE it's learning to shave with an ultra-sharp blade that forgives no mistakes (cuts, blood) while with straight it's learning to shave with a blade that cuts less strong (pulling the hair = burning) it depends of course on the steel of the Straight and the preparation of the blade.
These are two different shaving skills (learning how to shave close and comfortably with a Straight that cuts less than 1/2 OD is not that easy)
In addition, the shaving sensations between the two are very different… For me.
It's like the difference between driving on a dry track and on ice...I like both.
This is perhaps why the two camps do not speak to each other...or very little, without really understanding each other, remaining on their respective paths, without understanding the other.
But that's just my 2 cent view.
Makes a lot of sense to me, and makes me think from a different perspective. Thank you. I suspect it is something I will like to try further down the road when I’m more adept.
I tend to agree with you that it feels right to learn to shave well with the full variety of tools, and that is a journey worth undertaking. I suppose that what you learn using one type of razor will often benefit your shavng with other razors in some way, or at least prompt some different ideas to try out.
Yes quite. both bring different and complementary things to make the experience and skills even more rewarding and enjoyable. The two talk to each other and exchange much more than I imagined at the start: skin preparation, shaving technique, honing for the straight, post shave, hair growth,...
