Will using a shavette improve my SR technique?

[Scrubby]

Hi fellow SR shavers.

I have been daily SR shaving since around 3 years now.
In the beginning there was a noticeable learning curve, but now my progress is stagnating.
Do not get me wrong - I do daily passes NS/EW/WE/SN+SN+CDM without irritation nor aftershave burn, and I even had to switch to shaving every other day because there is nothing to shave the day after. I can switch between full hollow and near wedge, switch between 5/8-6/8-7/8-8/8 without much difference in the results, so I am "good to go".
But I still want to improve my technique and challenge myself.

I read multiple times that a shavette is less forgiving than a SR. I am now wondering whether including a shavette in my rotation (or use it exclusively for some time) would provide me with a new challenge so I would have to improve my technique.

What are your experiences/opinions on this matter?

happy shaves,
Scrubby

 

[JPO]

I have found the artist club style "shavette" is more or less like using a traditional SR without the flex you get from a SR. They are less forgiving, but a highly refined SR is just as unforgiving.
These half DE blade "shavettes" is more of a challenge for me, mostly because of how short they are. But if you use a forgiving blade they are easier to use, in my opinion.
It is fun to change things up, but i am not sure if they will add anything to your SR skillset.
FYI, the term shavette is a trademark name from Dovo.

 

[rbscebu]

@Scrubby you and I started SR shaving at about the same time. Like you, I have progressed in my SR shaving development to a level similar to yours.

I also found that my SR shaves were getting too good and I had nothing to shave 24 hours later. What I did was stopped going ATG, except for the CdM which I still do with every shave.

As for a shavette, I have included a shavette in my shaving repertoire once every few months. I use a generic stainless steel shavette with a half DE Feather blade. I do this just to keep my hand in incase I need to use one while travelling. Shaving with a shavette is different from shaving with a traditional SR but I find it no very much more challenging now that my SR shaving technique has reach the level it has.

For challenges, I moved on the a few different types of whetstones. I will also soon start making and fitted my own SR scales. Once all that is perfected, I may even consider getting into forging and grinding SRs.

There is still plenty for me to learn.

 

[aussie]

I doubt it will improve your SR technique, but it will teach you to adjust your angle and pressure more accurately.

 

[Ravenonrock]

From my experience, using a shavette improved my shavette technique. Daily SR shaving improved my SR technique. Different animals for me. I moved on and lost interest in the shavette very quickly, not my thing.

 

[aussie]

I doubt it will improve your SR technique, but it will teach you to adjust your angle and pressure more accurately.

I should append to this by saying that having developed a good shavette technique, shaving for extended periods (a week or two), will encourage you to be a bit lazy in regards to your technique, the which you will notice when you next use the shavette.

...or that's how it seems to me.

 

[Butch Waxx]

I went from shavette to straight razor to safety razor……The shavette was challenging for sure and introduced me quickly to the world of Alum and styptic sticks. I found straight razor preparation and shaving to be far more forgiving and fun, however extremely time consuming….I decided then to go the way of the safety razor and I really enjoy shaving this way. I will say that using a shavette and straight prepared and escalated my technique for using the safety razor.

 

[RumpleBearskin]

IMHO shavettes, traditional straights, SEs, and DEs are each their own thing. They all perform the same function, cutting whiskers at skin level, but they all have different operating parameters, and thus individual techniques to some degree.

They all perform the same function, so there is some crossover. Improvements in one can translate to improvements in another. But the tool-specific bits won't translate at all.

While you might notice improvement in your SR shave after using a shavette, I wouldn't count on it and the improved skill could just as likely have been acquired through experimenting with the SR. "Changing it up a bit" doesn't have to be drastic.

As always, "Your face, your shave."

 

[FarmerTan]

@Scrubby you and I started SR shaving at about the same time. Like you, I have progressed in my SR shaving development to a level similar to yours.

I also found that my SR shaves were getting too good and I had nothing to shave 24 hours later. What I did was stopped going ATG, except for the CdM which I still do with every shave.

As for a shavette, I have included a shavette in my shaving repertoire once every few months. I use a generic stainless steel shavette with a half DE Feather blade. I do this just to keep my hand in incase I need to use one while travelling. Shaving with a shavette is different from shaving with a traditional SR but I find it no very much more challenging now that my SR shaving technique has reach the level it has.

For challenges, I moved on the a few different types of whetstones. I will also soon start making and fitted my own SR scales. Once all that is perfected, I may even consider getting into forging and grinding SRs.

There is still plenty for me to learn.

I love your attitude about learning my friend!

Thanks for the help you dole out here on Badger and Blade.

 

[Eastcoast30]

"Will using a shavette improve my SR technique?"

My answer is "No". There are no training wheels for SR shaving. Learning to use a straight requires a certain amount of skill, focus, and muscle memory. This must be combined with edge maintenance. The shavette is basically a fixed angle, fixed blade exposure device. And those parameters change depending on which shavette you buy. Using a straight requires different technique and blade angle depending upon what you are doing.

My answer is if you want to improve your SR technique, practice with, and use, an SR.

 

[Sisyphos]

y"Will using a shavette improve my SR technique?"

My answer is "No". There are no training wheels for SR shaving. Learning to use a straight requires a certain amount of skill, focus, and muscle memory. This must be combined with edge maintenance. The shavette is basically a fixed angle, fixed blade exposure device. And those parameters change depending on which shavette you buy. Using a straight requires different technique and blade angle depending upon what you are doing.

My answer is if you want to improve your SR technique, practice with, and use, an SR.

This claim has long time bothered me.

I am a shavette user.

I am willing to use a "real" straight. But I am not read/able to use a " real " straight. All this maintainance issues.... (stones, films, diamomond srprays etc.).
I bougtht a straigt razor ( from Ali , A GD, RSO .I don't know). I was not able to bring his thing shave ready. This means I am not ready to compare shavette vs. SR. So I don't have a SR experience.

What is the difference between shavette vs SR ? The feeling of that I have done a matintance ? Different shave angle ? Different sharpness? Something else? A sharp edge is an sharp edge, How this edge was created cannot affect the shaving experience ? Can it ?

 

[Eastcoast30]

Each shavette has its own exposure and blade angle. Under the nose, you may use a different angle than on your cheek or Adam's apple. The shavette does not quite give you that option. Each shavette is different. A Gold Dollar from Ali is not how you want to start. You need to be an experienced as a honer to bring that razor to shave ready.

Get any straight razor, even your gold dollar, and send it out to be honed shave ready. Then all you will need is a leather strop, until it is time to hone again. Now practice and learn with the SR.

 

[Sisyphos]

Each shavette has its own exposure and blade angle. Under the nose, you may use a different angle than on your cheek or Adam's apple. The shavette does not quite give you that option. Each shavette is different. A Gold Dollar from Ali is not how you want to start. You need to be an experienced as a honer to bring that razor to shave ready.

Get any straight razor, even your gold dollar, and send it out to be honed shave ready. Then all you will need is a leather strop, until it is time to hone again. Now practice and learn with the SR.

You did not convince me !
The shave angle - it cannot be different ! 10 degree for SR is not different for shavette !

 

[Sisyphos]

It is as I feeled initialliy - it is all about yor feelings!

If you feel - it is good - then it is good! I accept it!

SR vs shavette - has no meaning!

 

[Darth Scandalous]

You did not convince me !
The shave angle - it cannot be different ! 10 degree for SR is not different for shavette !

The geometry of the holder combined with the amount of blade exposure impacts the shaving angle. With a traditional straight you can shave with the blade flat on your face if you want (assuming your soap is slick enough), or with a higher angle if you want. Shavettes vary in design but it is difficult to use a very shallow or flat shaving angle with them. When you couple that with a very sharp manufactured blade, you can have a relatively narrow range of usable shaving angle. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it requires more care when shaving, and I think is mostly what people are referring to when they say a shavette is less forgiving than a traditional straight.

 

[Eastcoast30]

@Darth Scandalous, thank you, that is what I have been trying to express. @Sisyphos, you say "The shave angle - it cannot be different ! 10 degree for SR is not different for shavette !". You simply don't get it. I can hold the straight at 5 degrees at one part of my face, 30 degrees at another, 15 degrees somewhere else. As Darth says, he can shave with the straight almost flat, which is a good thing to do. If you hold the shavette flat against your skin, the blade will not touch your skin.

Shaving with a shavette is a lot like shaving with a double edge safety razor, but with the handle in a different place. And many of those DEs are adjustable and the shavette is not.

 

[rbscebu]

@Scrubby, everyone's face and whiskers are different. Why don't you just get a shavette, packet of DE blades and try it. A generic Chinese stainless steel shavette with blades on AliExpress will cost you less than USD5 including shipping. Shave with it daily for a week or two and then report back on B&B with how you found your shave experience.

 

[haggis]

One skill that shavettes gave me that turned out to be invaluable for SRs was a light touch, keen awareness of the blade's trajectory, and the ability to slam on the brakes. Once I started using straights and encountered "stiction", poor lathers, crappy edges, and so on the need to push through some resistance — without pushing too far — occasionally becomes necessary. I suspect if I went back to a shavette right now it might be a bloodbath until I recalibrated.

 

[Scrubby]

@Scrubby, everyone's face and whiskers are different. Why don't you just get a shavette, packet of DE blades and try it. A generic Chinese stainless steel shavette with blades on AliExpress will cost you less than USD5 including shipping. Shave with it daily for a week or two and then report back on B&B with how you found your shave experience.

@rbscebu. You are right. I will give it a go, and report back after some time.

 

[oscar11]

I’m not a fan of shavettes. They are cantankerous little vipers. I much prefer straight razors. I’ve used them in the past and could by with them but if I’m going to be using razor blades I’d put them in a sledgehammer slant.