Today was my first Shavette shave. I have never used a straight or shavette before, so this was a bloody experience. Definitely need to get the hang of this. I had great lather and even used some MRGLO underneath the lather to make sure I had the most protection possible. Problem areas were where the jaw line and neck start, that curve is tricky. And the left hand is not used to precision moves like that, so left side of face and neck were also a challenge. I was using right hand for right side and left hand for left side. I only did a one pass going straight down for fear of really trying to butcher up the face. I only got a few nicks which were only where I somehow stabbed myself with the end of the razor. Alum at the end really let me know how badly I did with significant stinging. Used a styptic pencil to seal up my nicks and cuts. Definitely an experience and will need to practice this more. I shave in the mornings so I will probably save practicing for the weekends so I have more time. I used a Johnny B. Shavette that I got from my barber for $12 new along with a Derby Professional blade.
You are not the only one experiencing trouble on their first shavette shave. It's common. It just requires practice. My first and second experiences were terrible. Keep at it.
Shavette's are the hardest implements to master. Remember to use a very shallow almost flat angle when using one.
Lol I needed the 911 on speed dial for my first go with one of those. Not my favourite, but the system does have a solid following and I'm sure you'll get the hang if you hang in there...
Just don't have the funds right now for a straight razor and required strops and balsa wood and all of that. I'll keep it as weekend shaver til I get the hang of it. If not, I'll wait for the straight. I hear they shave differently anyhow.
Just think of the shavette as simply another shaving skill to master. DE razors, SE razors, straights, shavettes…each requires a slightly different technique. Keep at it! Soon you'll be a master of all things wet-shaving!
I tried one years ago...cut myself a few times and threw it In the garbage. That's how DE razors became my first choice.
Never thought of it like that. Thanks for the advice. Now I want to master it. And thanks for feeding my RAD, lol.
Glad you survived! I would suggest, only use your dominant hand, rather than trading off. Using a non-dominant hand to hold a razor sharp knife to your throat (so to speak) is going to give you trouble. When you do your left side, bring your hand around next to your ear with the blade coming back accoss your cheek pretty much the opposite of how it goes on your right. You hold the razor exactly the same way, with your pinky on the tail and the other three fingers along the spine. This makes it a lot easier to see what you are doing. Here is a link to the article on Art Of Manliness that gives pictures showing the types of strokes to use straight shaving, which you would use the same ones with shavettes: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/10/06/how-to-straight-razor-shave/ When I returned to straight shaving for good last year, this is the article that got me started in the right direction. The pictures come from a turn of the century book that you can buy as a pdf on ebay pretty readily for about 4 clams, "Shaving Made Easy". There is a link at the bottom of the article, but I think it costs more there than on the bay. Keep at it and good luck!
Really you're grandfathers way of using toilet paper squares on the knicks works best. Where jaw meets chin line, mustache, and neck are always the hardest. Best thing on the curve of neck is remember to roll the angle with your wrist accordingly. Have tried the right hand left hand before. Meh just use the dominate one. Depending on length, I often just go right with a XTG pass from the git go. Providing fresh out of shower steamed hot soft beard "which is always"
