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Using a 3 piece safety razor without the base plate ?

Hi all.

I saw a viewer comment on a geofatboy video - this viewer claimed that he uses a safety razor without base plate for the 1st pass, then re attaches the base plate for subsequent passes. I think in his case the razor was a Merkur 15C, but I'm not sure razor model would matter too much.

I'm just wondering if anyone has tried this, and I'm also seeking general comments / thoughts on the idea. Is it dumb, interesting, useful, pointless etc. ? I'm thinking of giving this one a try.

Thank you.
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Sure! It's called a "devette" -- a combination of "shavette" which is a naked-edge razor that usually looks like a straight razor, and "DE" for double-edge. There are also "sevettes" made from single-edge razors.

With only a few rare exceptions, devettes and sevettes are homemade. It's a thing that goes back into the 1930's at least, when guys would cut one or both bars off the baseplate of a Gillette razor. Cut off both bars or most of the teeth on the baseplate and it's a devette. Cut off one bar or teeth on one side and it's called a "half-sider."

Some guys would just take off the baseplate and screw the handle back on. Others would put a small steel washer between the handle and blade. Some would cut off just the bars and leave the frame ends in place to hold the edge up off the counter when the razor is laid down, others would take off the frame ends as well and simply set the razor down on its side.

I was always a little skittish about devettes. However, I just wrapped up five weeks shaving with nothing but, and it was OK. I found that I can't go ATG with it, but I can do WTG and mostly that's good enough. It's a little better if I also go XTG but that requires some care.

I'm a head shaver, and while I like shavettes and use them occasionally, I've always had trouble finding good grips and still being able to see what I'm shaving and control the razor. A devette is just a T-shaped shavette, and I already have lots of muscle memory for using a T-shaped razor.

Search my recent posts and you'll see a picture of it. I used a RazoRock BBS standard, cut off both bars and left the frame ends in place. I also have an OC baseplate for that razor, which I will keep that way as I like it as an OC as well.

I'd say do a little reading, get a good razor for it, and make one.

O.H.
 
All I can say is "Ouch," and "Where are the band aides?"

Why would a person do this? Not for additional comfort. Not for a faster shave. Not for more closeness. If there were a benefit, real or imagined, I'm sure King Gillette would have used that design on his Old Type razor in the early 20th century, and the safety bar would never have been invented.
 

Iridian

Cool and slimy
Just because some people do some things in very special ways doesn't necessarily make sense. In case of social media people often just like to make an *** of the fools that try.

There are indeed a very few DE razors that basically just have a cap, but this doesn't validate the claim.
 
I can confirm I tried this with a Merkur 15C a couple of hours ago, and this razor allows you to tighten the blade properly. My 34C was not able to do this. I think that putting 1 or 2 washers between the top of the handle and the bottom of the blade will enable you to do this with any razor. I'll have to try it.

Today was my first ever Devette shave. I only did WTG and 80% of an XTG pass, then I wimped out and reattached the base plate, and finished the XTG and onto the ATG pass. I had a couple of the tiniest weepers. A pretty good shave otherwise. I'm not sure I would do this every day, but I'd be keen to explore this technique further.
 
It's a real madness 🤪

1130509.jpg
 
I didn't pay close enough attention to the pictures when bidding on a vintage 1960s Star razor, and was shocked to win at $3. The ground-down safety bar baseplate was disguised by photographing it with a blade. I have not used it as a devette. Maybe I should start an "Asinine August" or "Stunt-shave September" thread to encourage others to show off unsafe non-traditional hacks.
 
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