SOTD - My 3rd Shave with Shavette - 4 nick, 0 cuts

[arnuld]

Not posting a picture for everything was exactly same as my 2nd shave. The experience though, is different:

• No more cuts at all (zero cuts)
• 4 nicks though
• no nicks on cheeks. That I have become expert I feel like , just 3 seconds on each cheeks and no nicks/cuts/burning/irritation at all on the cheeks
• nicks were all either on chin or on the Platysma region
• chin is very complex part to navigate , hence the nicks
• Platysma region gets nicks because I am still a total newbie at handling the corners of the blade and slanted regions
• Gillette Permasharp blade became better at 2nd shave. On first shave, it felt so edgy/irregular/not-smooth
• used way more alum for Platysma region burned a lot

After one more usage of the blade, I will switch to DE Safety-Razor and will use each razor for one week with the same blade. I got Gillette Permasharp, Sterling and Romer 7 Ricardo is on the way from Flipkart.com

..

 

[HazMat Shaver]

I like all the 7 o'clock blades. Some are sharper and some are smoother. Cant go wrong with those blades. I dont know about those razors. My guess is they will be mild. Still, its not a bad thing.

I still think you should get a Feather shavette and the guarded blades. It will make a world of difference in the shavette shave.

 

[nickm]

I switched from sharpest blade to mild for my shavettes. Haven’t been cut in over a year. I think what helps is the beginner 14 point shave required for your state barber exams. Learn from the 14 point system the face and you can make a checklist of what areas you need improvement on. It also helps greatly with consistent hand strokes as there are three, freehand, reverse backhand and backhand.

Shavette starts with cheek, mouth area and mustache. Then lower flesh where the jaw articulates, then dips into the upper neck, reverses direction for the lower neck. Then the right side. Sideburn, mouth area, mustache, lower jaw, upper neck, lower neck and then side for chin and reverse for the lower lip.

Permasharp for a newbie is way too sharp. Get a derby extra.

Chin you have to get a pocket mirror and literally learn the blade like a straight. The toe, the middle and the heel and you basically work 1mm squares over the course of 45-60 minutes on the chin only and re-lather when needed.

Plan on a 2 hour shave. 30 minute prep. 60 minutes for first pass and 45 minutes for the second pass.

Use your fingers to feel the hair with the lather on especially around the neck area. If you don’t know the grain identify direction.

Argan oil for aftershave. It has a regeneration property for healing skin faster.

 

[arnuld]

I like all the 7 o'clock blades. Some are sharper and some are smoother. Cant go wrong with those blades. I dont know about those razors. My guess is they will be mild. Still, its not a bad thing.

I still think you should get a Feather shavette and the guarded blades. It will make a world of difference in the shavette shave.

Just checked out this Feather Shavette. It's not just a razor, it's a work of art. Just beautiful:

 

[arnuld]

I switched from sharpest blade to mild for my shavettes. Haven’t been cut in over a year. I think what helps is the beginner 14 point shave required for your state barber exams. Learn from the 14 point system the face and you can make a checklist of what areas you need improvement on. It also helps greatly with consistent hand strokes as there are three, freehand, reverse backhand and backhand.

Shavette starts with cheek, mouth area and mustache. Then lower flesh where the jaw articulates, then dips into the upper neck, reverses direction for the lower neck. Then the right side. Sideburn, mouth area, mustache, lower jaw, upper neck, lower neck and then side for chin and reverse for the lower lip.

Permasharp for a newbie is way too sharp. Get a derby extra.

Chin you have to get a pocket mirror and literally learn the blade like a straight. The toe, the middle and the heel and you basically work 1mm squares over the course of 45-60 minutes on the chin only and re-lather when needed.

Plan on a 2 hour shave. 30 minute prep. 60 minutes for first pass and 45 minutes for the second pass.

Use your fingers to feel the hair with the lather on especially around the neck area. If you don’t know the grain identify direction.

Argan oil for aftershave. It has a regeneration property for healing skin faster.

I really thought about it and took my next shave as slow-moving one. Took like 40 min to do the shave but still got few nicks. Then asked myself a question. Why use a locally manufactured Shavette (with no standard of manufacturing in India) when I can get a safety razor with better and tested manufacturing standards? Why not learn that instead, specially when it's almost 10 times cheaper to buy?

So yeah, I shifted to safety-razor for now.

I really wanted to use a razor like Feather Artist Club SR but it's too expensive to be imported to INDIA. I will keep it in my heart for now. Later in life when I can afford it, I will surely try it.

 

[nickm]

The Artist club are at another level. Basically for men who have mastered the shave and need another level to keep enjoying the shave. Don’t want to say it is advanced though not needed.

The DE half blades are easiest and also the most affordable.

Some barbers say the shavette is just a holder for the blade itself. Mostly learned technique.

Start with your cheek only. Both sides with shavette. Then switch to the safety for the rest of the shave.

My first 50-60 shavette shaves were super sharp, too much pressure, did not know direction of hair growth at all, and I scraped the skin instead of only removing the lather.

It took awhile to get in with the shavette and the shaves still were not close for at least the first 300 shaves.

Did you get the alum block? Immediately after use cold water flush. And the alum if it burns or stings usually means you applied too much pressure.

Try a straight razor. They are not as sharp as shavette and should greatly reduce number of cuts. Come to think of it I have never been cut from a straight razor ever.

For the shavette try 1-2 days a week or every 2 weeks. And use a super mild razor after with a maximum of 1-2 DE passes. Use extra mild blade, those gillettes were too much for my skin starting out.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I really wanted to use a razor like Feather Artist Club SR but it's too expensive to be imported to INDIA. I will keep it in my heart for now. Later in life when I can afford it, I will surely try it.

I don't know if you can get the Greager GR-100 in India but they run a lot cheaper than a Feather and I think it works pretty well--the profile allows a low shave angle which not all AC format barber razors do.

Here is a US-based link so you can see what it looks like.
CJB GR-100B Kamisori Style Shavette (Uses Feather Artist Club Blades) - https://maggardrazors.com/products/cjb-gr-100b-kamisori-style-shavette-uses-feather-artist-club-blades

 

[aussie]

I also have and recommend the CJB razor. It's functionally identical to the Feather razors but at a fraction of the price. Of course the quality isn't as good.