SirFuego's Shavette Journal

[SirFuego]

My name's Jared and Bird_Flu mentioned this site to me on a non-shaving forum with both frequent. I've been using my shavette for a couple months so I figured it's time to start up a journal here...

I have been a cartridge user for years (Mach3 and Hydro5), but have never liked the price of replacement cartridges. Plus I have a coarse beard and always seem to clog up the cartridges. In the past couple years I have been trying other cheaper alternatives (including just growing a beard -- which I wasn't a fan of), without much success getting close to the shave/comfort of a Mach3. Everything else just seemed to eat up my face -- so I always assumed that the "old school" methods wouldn't be any better. Well after my last set of cartridges ran out a couple months ago, I did some research, watched some applicable YouTube videos, and decided to take the plunge...

So my first question was straight razor or safety razor? To me the straight razor just seemed more "interesting". However, there seemed to be a pretty big learning curve -- not only with the shaving, but also with the prep/maintenance. After seeing some references to "shavettes", I decided to find out what the heck they were. Well that seemed to be the ticket for what I was looking for. I know a shavette isn't exactly a "straight razor", but it seemed like something worth trying without putting the time and money into a real straight razor setup.

Here are the reasons I went with a shavette:

1) Lower startup costs than a straight razor (note that I didn't know about Whipped Dog's deals at the time). So if I didn't like it, the money I spent trying it out would be minimal.
2) You know the shavette is going to be sharp (just replace the blade if it isn't), so maintenance is minimal. I figured that will eliminate some variables while I'm getting the muscle memory down for a good shave.
3) Travel (though I haven't traveled since I made the switch). When I travel for work (once every couple months), I try to not check any baggage if I'm flying. I figure that with a shavette, I could bring it along with me (empty) and pick up blades at a convenience store where-ever I'm going. Has anyone run into issues traveling with an empty shavette? I guess I could see getting hassled at least until they realize it was empty, but wasn't sure if that happens or not...

So onto my setup. It's extremely basic (I wanted to keep it simple to start), but I'm extremely happy with my first 10 shaves or so.
- Parker SR1
- Shark Super Stainless blades
- Van der Hagen bowl, soap, brush combo
- Styptic pencil

Obviously, my first couple shaves went as well as could be expected for a newbie (though I can't say any of them qualified as a bloodbath), but I've recently been experimenting with different techniques as my comfort level with this type of shaving has increased. The more experimenting I did, the more I started to figure things out. And just last night I achieved what I would call a DFS. I'm sure it will only get better, and it's also reassuring that you may not need a really fancy setup to get good results (although if I don't keep this in check, I could see this turning into a money p-- err, hobby). I sport a goatee, so I haven't had the pleasure of shaving the chin, either.

Here is what I have learned so far:

1) The tutorials I found here on getting a good lather from cheap shaving soap have been great. I seem to like a more "watery" lather better than a nice thick one.

2) After doing a few multi-pass shaves, I started to pay more attention to the way my hair grows. I found out that:
2a) For the cheeks/jawbone, a WTG shave doesn't really do anything for me even with more growth. My last couple shaves have just been XTG and/or ATG for the cheeks/jawbone and have gotten a much better shave with less irritation. For whatever reason, XTG and ATG feel more natural, too.
2b) For the neck, starting ATG with my first pass then doing WTG for the second gives me the best results and also reduces irritation.

3) Proper lighting is key for a good shave. I've spent the past couple weekends working on a budget "refresh" of our bathroom to get it out of the 1960s and fix some minor issues. Part of the refresh involved replacing the ugly 48" flourescent light fixture with a sconce-style fixture using regular bulbs. It's positioned directly over the sink and the direct light has been great for touching up and overall visibility.

4) Up until last night, my shaves had been focused on using warm water. Last night I decided to switch to cold water (a couple splashes of cold water on my face, then onto the lather) and my results were fantastic. I had my first DFS and had almost no irritation. I'm not sure if this was just being "in the zone" or if the cold water really did help, but I'm going to continue experimenting to see what works best for me.

5) I should probably look into some sort of unscented (or lightly scented) aftershave.

6) I need to be more careful around the lip area when touching up. A shavette isn't very kind to the lip if you aren't very careful

I'll keep this updated as I get more shaves in and of course open to any suggestions one may have, but just wanted to pass on my experiences so far.

 

[rockviper]

Welcome aboard SirFuego/Jared!

It sounds like you're doing just fne with a shavette and when you make the move to "normal" straights, you should have an easy time of it. Be sure to practice your honing and stropping on Bird_Flu's kit. That way you won;t damage your own stuff

BTW the reasons I picked up a shavette (I also have 3 straights and another on the way) are exactly what you listed as being yours.

 

[SirFuego]

So I've gotten a few more shaves under my belt and am extremely happy with how I've been progressing. I picked up some Nivea Sensitive Skin aftershave balm and that seems to have solved any post shave irritation and also seems to make shaving the right side of my neck less prone to razor bumps and burn -- which was a problem without aftershave. The aftershave has a very pleasant yet almost non existent scent which leaves me feel really refreshed. Yeah I guess that's kind of an obvious "aha!" moment, but I never really used aftershave before so I'm just trying to figure out what works for me.

As for the hot vs cold, I've done a few more of each and am noticing very little difference in the results. I guess its a nice thing knowing that I don't need to take a good hot shower beforehand. I'm guessing that my initial successes with cold water was just likely due to improved technique and muscle memory.

Speaking of technique, my most successful shave was tonight which involved a lip to ear pass using more of a scything technique followed by an ATG pass also with more of a scything technique. I think its allowing the razor to cut the hairs more easily and subsequently allowing me to use less pressure. This was my first multi-pass shave devoid of the red stuff!

 

[SirFuego]

Still chugging away with the shavette. I've gotten to the point that a XTG pass takes only a few minutes and is "good enough" for a presentable look and about the same as I would get with cartridges. If I follow it with ATG shave, it's pretty close to DFS. The areas I just can't seem to get BBS are under the chin just below my goatee. The grain seems to go east-west and I just haven't figured out a good way to shave it that way without the goatee getting in the way of the motion.

It's also sooooo much easier getting clean lines around my goatee. Previously, my goatee would keep getting wider and wider until I needed to trim it with an electric trimmer, but with the shavette, I can easily keep the width constant since it can cut through longer hair.

I've been playing around with the shaving soap, too, and have been getting better lather results. I have hard water, but have a water softener (although I'm not as diligent about replacing the salt pellets as I should be). This seems to work best for me (I have the cheap Van Der Hagen Shaving Kit):
1) Turn on the hot water and get it hot.
2) With the puck AND brush in the bowl, fill the bowl all the way to the top with hot water.
3) Wait a few minutes (I usually take a shower).
4) Dump the water from the bowl.
5) Give 3 or 4 hard shakes to the brush
6) Start building the lather in the bowl (with the puck still in it).

Step 2 used to be fill up the sink with an inch or two of hot water to soak the brush in and put a little bit of water on the puck in the bowl. The problem I found was that the brush wouldn't stay warm with my sink, so apparently the bowl is a much better insulator. With hard water, you typically need more water to get a good lather with soaps, so it's understandable that more water in the bowl would give me a better lather. Not that water is expensive or scarce in this area, but it also uses less water using the new approach. Having an old septic system, I also prefer to conserve water where ever possible.

 

[Bird_Flu]

How did I miss this before? Sounds like everything is coming along nicely for you. Once my honing skills get a little better I'll buy a Gold Dollar #66 razor and send it up to you shave ready so you can give a regular straight razor a try. If you hate it just mail it on back to me, if you like it keep it and grab yourself a strop. Another way to get good lather with hard water is to add more product as well at least with my brand of hard water that's what I have to do.

 

[AndroiDad75]

Great start!!!! Sounds like you are well on your way!!!

 

[SirFuego]

I had a pretty good two-pass shave last night. Tried the same brush/soap prep described above and got a nice warm lather going on after my shower. I did decide to change the blade on my shavette and that almost always means some weepers for me. For whatever reason, I'm fine after getting a few passes in with a blade, but the first couple seem to bring out some red on the skin. I ended up finishing up the shave with some Cornhusker's Lotion followed by the Nivea Sensitive ASB. I was really happy with this combo and my skin feels and looks a lot better than most of the previous shaves I've done. The Cornhuskers seems to do a better job at soothing the skin than the Nivea. However, I'm not a huge fan of the scent of the Cornhusker's lotion, so the Nivea helped to override it.

How did I miss this before? Sounds like everything is coming along nicely for you. Once my honing skills get a little better I'll buy a Gold Dollar #66 razor and send it up to you shave ready so you can give a regular straight razor a try. If you hate it just mail it on back to me, if you like it keep it and grab yourself a strop. Another way to get good lather with hard water is to add more product as well at least with my brand of hard water that's what I have to do.

Thanks for the offer. At some point in the future, I'd definitely be interested in a first-hand comparison between a shavette and straight razor. However, it remains to be seen whether or not I'd be willing to do the maintenance/prep for a straight razor in the long term [putting flame suit on ]. I can send over some of my shavette blades for you to try out at some point as well.

With my current setup, I keep the puck in the bowl I use to build up the lather, so I think that helps with the hard water (and I just realized I forgot to pick up salt pellets AGAIN yesterday) since there is always more product available to get on the brush.

 

[SirFuego]

So it's been a while since an update -- but that's mostly because I decided to grow a beard.

So this post might be sacrilege to some folks here, but all hope is not lost

I'm going for a "clean" look, so I've still been using the shavette quite frequently for trimming the neck and cheeks -- plus it's keeping me in practice for when the beard goes (and when it does, the plan is to have a fun few days of trimming and shaping before it's all gone). The pic below is after a day of growth since my last trimming, but you can sorta see that the neck and cheek lines are still relatively crisp -- something I always struggled with when trying to trim facial hair with cartridges.

 

[egarmo]

Comment on item 5 of initial post:
Or "on the quest for cheap good unscented after shave" .
First, a superb shave on good lather and a very sharp blade does not quite call for any after shave other than cool water. It helps close the skin pores and may you feel clean.
Second, Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) is a sort of miracle plant that the Americas presented to the world. When Spaniards came to the coasts of Venezuela, they noticed the beatiful skin of the natives. They would cut fresh leaves of Aloe and rub the gel out of them in their bodies. Though it is not marketed as after shave, it works. Now you dont need to fall back on the plant (furthermore it takes quite warm climates to grow...), since probably also in the US they sell pure aloe gel. 250 ml bottle may cost less than 8 us dollars. And you must use VERY LITTLE. In Spain sometimes the gel is colourless and a popular cosmetic brand stained it in green. Also they claim for ecological growth sometimes.

 

[SirFuego]

So I shaved the beard today. I couldn't believe how easy the first pass was. It was kinda cool how the hair and soap stuck together into a long strip -- almost like peeling a banana. I probably could have gotten away with a single pass (I'm home from work for the next two weeks helping my wife with a newborn), but I went with XTG and ATG passes that went pretty well.

I switched to Williams shave soap after my puck ran out, but I don't like it as much. It seems to not give as good of a lather compared to the Van Der Hagen even after trying to build it for a few minutes. Not a huge fan of the smell either. I know it's not one of the preferred soaps to use by a longshot, but I'll stock with it until it's done.

I finished the shave of with corn huskers and Nivea that provided good relief.

 

[Bird_Flu]

So I shaved the beard today. I couldn't believe how easy the first pass was. It was kinda cool how the hair and soap stuck together into a long strip -- almost like peeling a banana. I probably could have gotten away with a single pass (I'm home from work for the next two weeks helping my wife with a newborn), but I went with XTG and ATG passes that went pretty well.

I switched to Williams shave soap after my puck ran out, but I don't like it as much. It seems to not give as good of a lather compared to the Van Der Hagen even after trying to build it for a few minutes. Not a huge fan of the smell either. I know it's not one of the preferred soaps to use by a longshot, but I'll stock with it until it's done.

I finished the shave of with corn huskers and Nivea that provided good relief.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family!! Williams is a love it or hate it soap. Check out Stirling soaps, they're decent and around $5/puck if I remember correctly.