BlueShaver's Shavette Odyssey.

Having never used a straight razor or un-safety razor or shavette of any kind before, I thought I would make this thread as a sort of running diary for my new odyssey into this side of wet shaving.

On the back of enabling encouragement from some of our members ( *waves at @Trigger *) I did some investigations into straights, etc and quickly zoomed into a AC Feather copy from Aliexpress. Cheap enough to bin should i fall at the first hurdle (hopefully not). But good enough to be usable.

Thus, my first shavette has arrived:



$10 delivered with 10 allegedly Japanese blades.

On first inspection, it seems quite good. The fit and finish is obv. not AC esque and there is the odd tiny tool marks and seaming but in all, very good. The friction lock on the handle is done well. It is smooth and secure. The blade holder is well machined and (afaict) sits true and square.

The blades are packed in a sealed dispenser and the blades and razor were delivered in a simple box as shown.

Now that is out of the way, i need to start thinking about how i am going to prepare myself for its first shave.....

Any opinion and advice (or insults and ridicule) are gladly accepted!

I shall try to keep this thread up to date

 

Just follow the suggestions on my Straight Razor/ Shavette Guide and take in You Tube shavette shave videos. Dive in Jon, the water's fine. Go for it! Oh, it looks like a nice shavette!

 

congrats Jon..have fun..

 

I've not used an Artist Club type razor, but I'd still like to suggest using the Genuine Feather blades.

They even have one with little guards built in.

It sticks with my belief in a 'known edge' for straight razor school.

Don't try full shaves at first. Have fun.

 

More blades?

I will have that much stuff at this rate i will be able to open up a shop !

Thanks for the advice btw.


*Wanders off to the 'bay....*

 

Schick Proline has an artist club type blade

 

By all means, give it a try with the included blades, and let us know how they feel. But I will definitely agree that genuine Kai, Feather, and/or Shick will likely give you a much better shave experience. One of the challenges of getting "settled" with AC-blade razors is finding the blade(s) that suit(s) you. Oddly enough, I use four different types.

If you don't mind investing a few bucks more, tryablade.com offers a variety pack with one of each of the name-brand blades. It'll cost you a total of $18-20, including shipping (ironically more than you paid for the SS clone!). Or if you're located in the CONUS, send me a DM, and I'll PIF you a couple blades.

Shave on!!

 

That's generous of you, but Blueshaver lives in Europe.

 

Thanks for this. Its support posts like this that make TSD great.

I am not CONUS but you are on the money regarding blade samples. I need a few to try in my recently aquired injector, SE and Shavette razors. Buying a full pack of each is going to be $$$$!

 

I'm pretty sure I recommended these blades on the other thread where I recommended the Feather SS.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IGSVQC/?tag=thshde-20

Yes, go ahead and give it a try. I would recommend laying the razor head flat on your cheeks and keeping it flat. Check your face, did you shave the hair? If not, slightly raise the spine and repeat. Use another razor for your middle face for now. Over time, about a week, muscle memory will begin to kick in.

 

I will be following along, @BlueShaver. It looks like you have a well-made shavette. I suggest sticking with the Feather AC Super or Super Pro blades. The Super Pro is more rigid, which is helpful IMO. (I have a medium to light beard and have no problem using Super Pro blades.) I wouldn't be concerned about blade exposure, presence of blade guards, etc. You're using a shavette, right? Instead, I recommend taking it slow, focusing on every aspect of your already developed technique, and finishing up your shaves with your razor of choice as needed as you develop skill and confidence using the shavette.

Learning to use a shavette really helped me improve my technique using any razor. I'm sure it will do the same for you. Remember to stretch your skin with every stroke of the blade. I can't overstate the importance of skin stretching.

Have fun, and thanks for letting us ride along!

 

Thanks for the tips so far.

I have two questions so far:

1) I was looking at how to hold a shavette properly, but it seems that this may be a YMMV thing. I have big hands (oo-er missus!) so three on the shank and a pinky on the tang feels awkward. It feels better to me to have my index finger on the tang as well as my pinky, but this moves my thumb away from the heel.

According to this video:


Hand position is dictated by balance and he says that if you have a heavy hand, two fingers on the shank and two on the tang is better.

Thoughts?

2) I can't seem to find a decent video on how to use a pain stick for a beginner. There are plenty of them and the art of manliness effort has a good go, but there really doesn't seem to be a "plain English" version which is instructional without being full of victoriana or some bloke waffling about heating towels. I just want the facts ma'am. How to hold it, how to use it, how to stretch your skin, how to do the tricky bits etc.
Does anyone have a link to a decent tutorial?

 

Go to Geofatboy on YouTube. I am not aware of tutorials for beginners, but there are many that show you how to hold and shave with an open blade. Basically, hold the razor flat on your face, then lift away from face. Make sure there is a spine width space between razor and face and start shaving. How to hold the razor is an individual preference based on what feels comfortable for you.

 

Bummer.....

Tryablade charges a flat 5USD for shipping. You'll get a lot of strong opinions on blade types from different users here, but I'd recommend the sampler pack and finding out which works for YOU. Keep in mind, your blade preference may evolve as your skills evolve. Every one of the AC blades will hold an edge with proper care (cleaning & drying), so hang on to the rest of the pack once you've settled on a favorite. Most newbies start with a guarded blade and eventually move to unguarded blades (think training wheels). Some stick with guarded blades indefinitely. I use a guarded blade when I want a quick shave or when traveling.

Regarding holding the razor.....
As long as you are able to maintain control and keep the proper angle, the exact finger pattern isn't critical. That said, start with the traditional way - thumb on underside of tang, index finger on top of tang, middle finger on the tail. Try running the razor along your face without a blade and dial in the angle. If you feel you have better control with a different finger pattern, feel free to change it up. Keep in mind that it will take more force to shear through whiskers with a blade than it will to run it up and down your face with no blade. I use an unorthodox grip on my Kai Captain, but it feels natural to me. It differs from the way I hold my straight razors (I also have a few different ways depending on the razor). I have a completely different grip when going ATG. (Don't even think about going ATG at this point)

If your enormous fingers just can't seem to grip the thing, maybe a fixed handle would be more appropriate.

 

The best "how to?" video i have seen so far by a country mile.

 

Great advice thanks.
I won't be doing atg for a while lol