I feel cheated

Discussion in 'Straight Razors' started by Bernal Murillo, Jul 23, 2021.

  1. Tedolph

    Tedolph Well-Known Member

    A couple of things: First, your angle needs to change depending on where you are on your face. 30 degrees is a very aggressive angle. On sensitive skin (like on your neck) going against the grain the spine of my straight razor is almost resting on my skin-so maybe a 10 degree angle. Maybe 30 degrees on my cheeks with the grain. Second, there are very good "drugstore" brand saving soaps in America, e.g. Williams, VanDerHaugen, etc. That work just fine. Cheap foreign shave soaps include Arko, Cella etc. that work as well as soaps costing 3x as much. There must be something like that in Costa Rica. Strait razors might need to be "sharpened" every five years or more if you are careful in maintaining and not damaging the blade. You will need to strop it every shave and give it maybe a dozen laps on a touch up stone every few months with a few laps on the suede side of the strop. The straight razor is the cheapest way possible to shave. There are decent Chinese razors available which when properly honed shave great and will last a lifetime. If you are willing to go this route $100.00 - $200.00 can set you up for life.


    WIN_20210504_11_58_42_Pro.jpg resized.jpg

    Oh, and it will be a smoother shave than with your shavette.
     
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  2. Bernal Murillo

    Bernal Murillo New Member

    thanks !!! I really appreciate all your input guys! This is a great welcome to a forum.
     
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  3. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    There's a wide variety of shaves possible in the sub-genre we call shavettes. Earlier you said you were interested in looking at mid-priced models. I'm going to assume you mean $50-$100.

    Tondeo TM. This German made razor is an interesting one. Takes only Tondeo blades, but those are edit: one of the longer longest of the shavette blades. Blade fits in a plastic holder, which is then enclosed in a metal shell. A favorite of European barbers.

    Focus AL. A very light, Italian made, machined aluminum razor. Takes DE blades, ends of the blades are covered to help reduce nicks.

    Feather SS. Avaliable in Kamisori style (fixed handle) and Western traditional (folding). Takes Artist club blades, but can also use hand loaded Schick injector blades.

    IBC (Irving Barber Co.). Takes Feather AC (Artist club) blades, DE blades, and injector blades. Somewhat difficult to load, it shaves well.

    Weck Sextoblade. Modern replicas are made by Diane. Takes Personna Hair Shaper blades. Basically a modern 'Frame-Back' straight razor.

    Kai Kasho Captain Woody. Takes Feather Artist Club style blades. In the $120 range and is probably more than you wanted to spend. This is the entry level shavette of the high end shavette catagory.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2021
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  4. Bernal Murillo

    Bernal Murillo New Member

    WOW !!! I didn't even know there were so many kinds of shavettes !!! I got a cheap one already https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GJWL5PK/?tag=thshde-20

    What I'll be interested in the future is a mid-range straight razor, to try it out, and I was thinking it might be around $100 + accesories
     
  5. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Oh, there's many, many, more than that. That's just the razors between $50 and $100. There's only a handful above $100, and hundreds below $50. The one you linked to is, sorry, bottom of the barrel when it comes to shavettes. It's a re-branded generic DE shavette. A step up would be the Parker SR1,
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002PQZEHQ/?tag=thshde-20
    Or a CJB razor from Maggards, though that takes Feather AC blades.

    A decent mid range straight razor will cost about $150-200. A cheap starter strop will be about $20, and you want your first strop to be a cheap one. A decent strop will start at $100, but you don't want to learn on one of those, unless you don't mind accidentally carving bits off it. Honing stones are not really necessary, but if the bug bites you, you are looking at another couple hundred for those.

    You'll wind up spending close to that if you go the high end shavette route. A Feather DX or Essence by Tedalus will cost $250+
     
  6. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I just got the Kai Kasho Captain Shavette (Kamisori style) from Amazon, with a leather case, for 80 bucks.
     
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  7. Tedolph

    Tedolph Well-Known Member

    Unless you are a barber and have to change blades by law, I don't see the point of an expensive shavette. It seems to me that for the same $$or less you can get a perfectly acceptable SR and be set for life. Maybe somebody can enlighten me on this point? I ask this respectfully an not to denigrate anyone or their equipment choice.
     
  8. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I guess expensive is in the eye (& wallet) of the beholder. I’m no expert with these, but as with any razor, I am paying for construction, weight & ease of use. This one has a nice weight & balance. and it isn’t hard to put in or remove the blade.
     
  9. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    True, but not a smoother shave than other shavettes.

    I'm waiting on a clone of the Kai Luffy, and if I like it, I'll probably wind up with the Kai Kasho Captain Woody.
    Not everyone has the time or skill to spend maintaining a straight razor. I've yet to shave with a straight razor that could equal the edge of a Feather blade. Maybe a "singing" full hollow blade could, but full hollows don't have enough stiffness to shave my wiry beard without some discomfort. Those are my reasons for preferring a shavette over a straight. I shave with both.

    I've always wished shavettes had the same class and style as a straight razor, and the Essence definitely ticks that box. So do the Feather and Kai razors, imo, if not at the same level as the Essence.
     
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  10. Tedolph

    Tedolph Well-Known Member


    You raise interesting points which I would like to add to. I agree that my SR does not and will not ever have an edge as sharp as a "fresh" Feather blade. I wonder if anything other than Obsidian is as sharp as a "fresh" Feather blade. I know this from experience because I use a Valet Auto Strop to do the back of my neck and clean up if I missed a spot, and a One Blade Core as my travel razor. Both take the Feather SE stainless blade (and the Feather carbon steel SE blade if I want to use the Auto Strop feature). Thus I have many years experience with Feather blades but here is the truth: I can not shave with a "fresh" Feather blade and not get a weeper somewhere. No problem after that. However, as with any disposable, the quality of the blade is always changing on each shave. Not an issue for a barber who has to change the blade for every customer by law. Now, if I am only using it to do the back of my neck no big deal. But, if I am using it as my regular shaver for every other day double or triple pass shaves the quality of the edge changes dramatically over 4-5 shaves. After the fifth shave it is pretty much unusable. Thus, I would constantly be changing my technique, both angle and pressure, and maybe even the number of passes. None of that happens with a SR if you maintain the edge. It shaves the same way every shave on each pass so your technique never has to change provided that you shave on a regular schedule. As a result, it is easy to get repeatable, comfortable shaves with a non-disposable razor.

    I have some indirect evidence to support this. I am always reading about aftershave "sting" and "burn" in these forums but principally in the DE forums. I never hear comments like that in the SR forums. My AS almost never stings unless I nick myself and that is maybe a once a year thing when I try something stupid.

    As for maintenance? Other than stropping before each shave about ten laps on a touch up stone every other month followed by a stopping on the suede side.

    Anyway, that is what I have to add for whatever it is worth.
     
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  11. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Sapphire blades are. But at $200+ a pop, I won't be using one anytime soon.

    Your other points are very valid.
     
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  12. gssixgun

    gssixgun At this point in time...

    Supporting Vendor
    Let interject some facts into the old Machine blade sharpness vs SR sharpness

    The Voerhaven paper actually measured the edges

    The sharpest DE edge they found was at .31~microns vs the sharpest SR at .32~microns
    that is pure measurements

    What isn't measurable is Comfort, we know that stropping does something just like we know that the coatings on machine blades works also

    We know that SR Honing and stropping are designed to create a CONVEX bevel this imparts strength and smoothness on the face
    We know this has actually made companies like Feather to try and emulate that bevel by using Micro beveling on their blades..

    These are things we know, what we don't know is what is going to work best for an individual on their face... Only the guy in the mirror knows that :p

    I like the Feather AC and the CJB that @Keithmax sent me both work fast and are relatively smooth on my Hollywood Face :p
    I also know how to hone and strop pretty darn good so my SR's are my goto shavers
     
  13. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    …or the legs of lady in the shower.
     
  14. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    The Science of Sharp guy measured 20 different brands of DE blades and found that the average blade edge width was 100 nanometers, or .1 microns.

    if you search on Gillette patents you will find similar and smaller dimensions described. It's really no secret or new discovery.
    https://www.google.com/patents/EP24...&sa=X&ei=lhTYVITCD4rLsASK9IEY&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAA
    "In an embodiment, the cutting edge (12) comprises a wedge-shaped tip that has an included angle of less than thirty degrees and a tip radius of less than about 1,000 Angstroms."

    Per this thread:
    https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/how-low-is-it-practical-to-go-in-microns-for-stropping.1259402/

    Browsing other threads, sub-micron edges on knives and straight razors have been attained, but you start running into issues like edge retention and lack of comfort when you shave with them. I'm reminded of a German study that used ceramic blades for shaving, and they had to abort the test (IIRC), because the test subjects felt the edges were too keen, and couldn't comfortably shave with them.
     
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  15. Tedolph

    Tedolph Well-Known Member

    Believe me, we always appreciate and respect having the legs of a lady with us in the shower.
     
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  16. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I like having mine when I’m there too. Makes it a lot easier to stand up.
     
  17. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    That's just so much :kngt:. I spend 90% of time shivering at the other end of the shower. The non-showerhead end.
    Porn-is-so-unrealistic-I-just-took-a-shower-with-m.jpeg
    ...sums it up nicely.

    For reference, a shower takes me between 5 and 10 minutes. A shower with the wife takes 30 minutes, if there's no hanky-panky going on. You can do the math.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2021
  18. Tedolph

    Tedolph Well-Known Member

    Here I am afraid we must agree to disagree.
     
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  19. Tedolph

    Tedolph Well-Known Member

    Not the same thing-trust me.
     
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  20. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Are you from one of the European countries that have on demand heated water? That makes a difference. But either way, we are different people who experience life in different ways with different people, and that's okay.
     
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