I just bought a Dovo Shavette from Em's place. I am thinking this would be an easy way to try the whole straight phenomenon. No honing, no stropping, etc. Man am I lazy. Anyways, I scare myself because you can really hurt yourself with a straight. But, you only live once, right??:happy102 I will just do some homework and take it really slow. REALLY slow.... And then if things work out I might try a real straight.
:signs021 You can do it. I figured guys were shaving with str8s for a lot more years than they were with the SE or DE. If they could do it, so can I. I consider myself somewhat coordinated, so I went for it. Only five shaves so far, but #5 was MUCH better than the first - they're getting better! Keep us posted on your progress.
Hi Jason, I'm still relativity new to straight shaving also. I been straight shaving about 7 to 8 months now. Your right about taking it slow but maybe not in the way you meant. For some time I didn't try for BBS but just a clean shaven look. The shaves got better and better and only now after enough practice am I cutting atg for a BBS shave. Its taken 7 odd months to get decent shaves. just wanted to let you know not to expect to much right away. One other bit of advice which I had to keep telling myself was watch the pressure. Takes a little while to get over past bad habits. Best regards Sparta
Thanks guys! Your experiences make me feel like I can do it! I got the razor today and will use it soon. Maybe tomorrow? Depends on if I shave tonight. I will start slow, and just do a couple strokes the first time then finish the rest of my shave with my SE. The thing is alot smaller than I expected. Shouldn't be a problem though, I have small hands.=)
I got my first shavette a couple of months ago. Its a Paker. I've been trying to do the same things that have been suggested: no pressure, slow, and generally WTG only. I tend to get good shaves, even with the 7 AM blades that came with the razor. You'll get it if you practice enough! Plus, you can always change blades just like in a DE until you find something that works well for you. Shave on!
I started shaving with a straight back in January. It took a while and I'm still learning but I feel 100% confident with it. Having a sharp edge is the key and I actually think there is probably less danger of cutting yourself than one that is not real sharp. A blade that is not as sharp as can be will cause your to inadvertently use more pressure than needed and the results will be nicks and burns. I haven't used a shavette so I can't speak to that but a sharp edge is key.
Hi Stephen! Glad to see your shavette is working for you. What model do you have? And Phil- I have to agree about the sharp edge. Hopefully my personna blades are up to the task! I just have to be careful loading and unloading the blade.
For anyone paying attention to this thread- I shaved today! Guess what with? The Shavette!! I liked it so much I bought the company! Seriously, I REALLY liked it! I shaved twice today with it, that's how much I liked it. And after the second shave, my face felt GOOD. I mean really good. And this shave tonight was two WTG passes strictly with the shavette. DFS all the way. Not BBS, but closer than I have ever come w/out going ATG. Nice! :happy088 I think it is easier to not use too much pressure with this razor. I must say, it is taking all the willpower I have to not run over to whippeddog.com and buy a real straight. But alas, I have blown out my budget on other razors, darn RAD. Just an update here from one happy camper! =)
On a side note, I was perusing B&B tonight to get some additional perspectives on straights and shaving in general. I found a link to this neat little book on shaving from over a hundred years ago. It reads in your browser window: http://www.archive.org/stream/shavingmadeeasyw0020th#page/n7/mode/2up I read it this evening. The interesting part is that alot of the instructions go way against conventional wisdom on techniques and methods. I highly suggest reading this booklet, it didn't take long at all. The print is large and it is only like 80 pages. Some nice illustrations. Take a look! (sorry if this has been posted before!)
To Bill and Steve: thanks guys!! Your encouragement is very helpful to me. I appreciate it. :happy005
http://www.archive.org/stream/shavingmadeeasyw0020th#page/n7/mode/2up Good read. I'm tired now. I don't read much.:sleep001
For those of you following along at home: I performed a little experiment tonight. I shaved dry! Yes, dry! But, I did use some nice, creamy and wet lather. I washed my face, and instead of leaving it wet, I dried it, and then made and applied some lather. I got that idea from the book above. I really think it had some advantages which I will now list: -my skin feels tighter and drier after shaving (up to you if this sounds good or not) -very little irritation, zero razor burn (which I didn't expect) -less mess -lather stayed on face in a nice consistency -overall nice shave, did try shaving left side of face with left hand, and went ATG which I usually don't do just FYI (feeling a little adventurous) And, for the sake of sanity, I used my Fatboy DE on 3 with a green 7 O'clock blade. Got pretty close to a BBS! I don't know if this appeals to any of you, but I kinda like it and am going to give it a chance. It flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but in short, the theory behind it is sound. You'll have to read the book to get that theory! ::angelic004 Seriously, read the book.
Actually, I usually do this, though I guess I never really thought about it. If I apply lather to my face and it's still wet, the lather runs. I usually wet my face with hot water or use a towel and get it really hot and steamy first, but then dry my face before I apply lather.
