Alright folks, so I have no idea about straights or shavettes, and the other night I was using my DE when I called my papa in to talk. He proceeded to get my brush and lather and try my DE. [I've been trying to get him to try it for a while now] Needless to say he liked it, but told if he got into wet shaving he would want to use a straight or a shavette. Like I said, I have no idea about any of these, and The Den is the place to ask. I shot Maggards an email, but I want to learn as much as I can about them. I want to get him a shavette for father's day with a bowl and brush and a few soaps, but I have no clue what I'm doing. Thank you folks!
Great question !!!! If you have the means (money) start with a straight. There are a few reasons for this. The biggest reason is the weight distribution. A straight is heavier and the user gets more hand feel and feedback. Also a straight is more forgiving though sharp it is not as "biting" as a shavette again that is due to the control you have with a straight and the pressure used. The downsides to a straight are price for a decent one ( Gold dollars are great entry level cheaper bit quality straights), you need a strop AND know how to properly use it and what pasted either CBN, diamond etc. to use. Lastly if you can't hone you will periodically despite stropping need to have it honed periodically. So there is an upkeep of a straight. Now a shavette is a awesome way too..... The positive if you go with a affordable one go with a Parker SR1 or the Dovo not the SRW the SR1as is the Dovo it is just better made and you have the luxury of a new half DE blade whenever it is time and it feels dull. You can also again if money is not an issue go with a Feather Artists Club........ but at that point you should IMHO het a straight. No other equipment needed. The down side is the weight distribution, there is none. The user needs to use a little pressure and have excellent prep and a steady hand. Shavette bite really bad as de blades are so sharp. So getting cut on a shavette is way more likely in my opinion. So the pros of a shavette are the price and convience they offer. The straight is a long term investment. Either way it is great as it is a interest you as a son and your father can share together !! Great job !
Str8 is much more user friendly....I feel it gives a softer shave where the Shavette is deadly sharp and unforgiving.....On the other hand the Str8 requires stropping and honing which are skills that both have their own learning curves and require considerable time. Where the Shavette is much more user friendly in this respect...Change the blade and shave....I also think, that a Shavette will teach you shaving technique faster than any other way....I chose to learn my blade technique and angles with the shavette, that way the Str8 now seems easy....and I chose to learn honing later on... Parker SR1 is a very nice and affordable way to go....The Monsieur Charles uses injector blades, thats cool too...But if you want to use DE blades you'd be hard pressed to do better than the Parker, for the money... 'Aschete' has really nailed this....Bravo! I second everything he's said.... Most important thing, don't be scared....People have been shaving with these for hundreds of years....The whole fear thing has been greatly exaggerated...Just go slow, watch your angles and lay it down, shallow angle....There are a ton of videos that really lay it out....have fun...
I'm a big fan of shavettes. Straights come with a whole truck load of maintenance. To me, that's a negative, but others enjoy the maintenance aspect of straights. Stropping and honing are things that taking time and commitment to become good at and are MANDATORY to keep your straight in good shaving condition. For me, a cheap shavette does a great job. I use a fresh blade every time since I have some many DE blades. So I always have a perfectly sharp blade, no question about it. Don't have to worry about it rusting, or getting dinked on the stink. Although I'd really love to get better which maintaining my straights, I just keep going back to my trusty Parker Shavette.
i'm a fan of the Mr C shavette. the weight really does feel (close as possible) like a real straight. It holds Personna Mini shapers. Much heavier than say a dovo and the cost of say 27.00 is nice. For someone like myself who is happy with DE and Shavettes I def recommend the Mr C However, if you plan on going to a straight razor, I do agree that the best way is to get a real one and have it TRULY shave ready before it gets to you. The blade angle on a straight def. needs to be less drastic than the blade angle (you could get away with) on a shavette. Hence, if you master the shavette and jump to a straight assuming its the same, you'll need to buy stock in band aid
Most everything has been covered well here. You might think about sitting down with your dad again and asking him why he stated his preference for the straight or shavette so quickly. Does he know of the good & bad of each from experience, or is he just enamored with the "idea" of the straight? It may also prove a good idea for you two to dial up some YouTube vids and watch what all is involved in stropping, honing, and then shaving. After watching GeoFatBoy, gssixgun, and Lynn Abrams do their thing for a while, dad may find new appreciation for the DE. (or, maybe not. It may also cement in the desire for the straight) Certainly, the straight (or the shavette) can be learned by most anyone who truly has the will, but my limited experience with helping others get started so far has proven that in the end the "macho" factor that straight shaving often arouses is frequently trumped by the new wet shavers limited patience and willingness to ascend the learning curve.
Thank you folks. I think I am going to start out getting him a shavette. It's cheaper, and I believe it will be a good price per risk to see if he enjoys shaving with it. If he enjoys it I will get him a straight, I just don't want to spend to much and him hate it. If he does, gift for me!
Str8s are very easy to learn, not much realy to using them. Maintenance on the other hand is a HUGE pain in the butt. I've used str8s off and on for years but get sick of upkeep. I tried a shavette and nearly cut my head off. Still trying to get it down. I can str8 in the dark, it realy is easy, the shavettes on the other hand are very critical. If you want a good gift for your dad go with str8, it'll last forever , most shavettes are very cheaply built. IMO, a good starter would be any quality brand , 5/8 full hollow ground with the round end. He's gonna hit his ears while he's learning and a round end wont cut his ear lobe off. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion.
I may go to an antique shop for it if I go for a straight. Can anyone explain upkeep of a straight to me how often and etc?
Most of mine are very old, carbon. I keep mine oiled (thin coat) you first have to sharpen it on a stone. Then it must be stropped , this "polishes " the blade. Sounds easy and actually is once you get it down, it just takes a while. Most people who use str8s have more than one so they can go a week without screwing with them. Alot of str8 come in a weeks shave pack, 7 razors in a kit just for that purpose. Thats why I am currently trying to perfect my shavette tech. I just wish shavettes were built better
I agree. In terms of shavette that use DE blades there's not much quality out there. And feathers are too expensive I think and I like to use the DE blades I already own.
I was looking at Parker shavettes, I believe they make one that takes a long feather type blade but its riveted too. cheap. One thing I have always loved about traditional shaving is that the tools are solid and well built. I will leave mine to my kids. I'm gonna wind up breaking this shavette before I perfect my technique.
Cool Breeze is so 'Right On' ....Thats one reason I love these SE's so much...The results are so much like with the shavette but the razors themselves are little works of functional art....And honestly, the shaves I get with my OCMM, ER 1924, ER 1914, and even my ER 1912 are all as close as with my shavettes but I never draw blood...and there is a certain nobility to a 100 year old razor that these shavettes just don't have....Of course a classic Str8 is another thing, but the honing issue...I would need to address that one. I wouldn't want to have to send it or them out all the time for honing. And I'm spoiled by how sharp these GEM, Treet and PAL blades are... I am convinced though...that going to gssixgun or whipped dog is the way to go for your first real Str8...The edge that you get from them is worth it! And I always see such beauties on gssixgun's site...and he is so helpful too...Dealing with a master like him is priceless.... And the Str8 is alot more user friendly...I don't get as close a shave with a Str8 as I do with my ER 1924 or OCMM but the Str8 is pretty bloodless compared to the Shavette.....When I was learning the Shavette there were times when my sink looked like a prop from the movie 'Helter Skelter'...
Absolutely Bird Lives, my clog pruf and mmoc's are my prized posessions. I loan out the mmoc alot, just so people can experience the fine shave and excellent workmanship
The shavette, where to start. Yes I do own a dovo shavette and sometimes use it. It's so bushwa because it cuts me more often but love how sharp the blade is! Thing I dislike about proper straights is how difficult it is to find an individual who will hone my blade to the precision I expect 'shavette level'. Far too often it’s just not sharp enough and the shavette always is. What I love about the shavette is what I dislike about mot straights. The blade on most especially older "vintage" straights is far too long. Long blades drastically hinder maneuverability IMO compared to blade height. The Shavette has a shorter overall length making it much more useable in terms of geometry. From what I see but without experience notation the Feather Artist series provides this desired short blade "just looks like fashion defecate all over the razor". Talking more about a proper straight is mostly pointless. You find what you like it's a work of art you take extreme pride in. With that one could also assume it's best to pick out straights yourself as someone could likely expresses their disposition within the style of the chosen straight. I'm not a extravagantly full bearded gentlemen. However my beard is extremely coarse 'ladies have complained' and this presents it's own challenges. If I had a late teen son with a new beard not so course I would have no issue with a shavette. I still would not discredit this route but from what I read there is this approximately $80 dovo floating around that sounds like a superb choice. If I was paying a professional barber for a shave and they expected to use a shavette I would leave. What all of this boils down to is the weight and angle of the blade. I've cut my thumb on the back edge of a shavette way more than a proper straight. There is still more safety in a shavette, mostly due to the plastic retainer limiting the depth of the blade. However I promise you I've set parts of my body all the way to the plastic limiter numerous times and it stings like hell! More often than not the blade is so sharp I cut myself when setting the blade down due to pore depth perception in the mirror or pure carelessness. Either from over confidence or my careless jovial nature of the morning. As I mentioned the length I can certainly get angles on the shevette that I really like! Often even chase with my large Frits Brachts and unable to achieve. Quite frustrating at the very least. Have even considered a DE for the couple odd angles on the neck for XTG pass I would like to achieve more regularly. Above all the largest disappointment in the shavette is the overall weight. Especially among gentlemen with coarse beards. The reason being the more weight you retain in the blade the less resistance you encounter from the beard against the blade angle. This makes altering the trajectory of the blade less likely. Without a very sound firm fluid grip and pass it's very likely the beard will deflect the blades trajectory altering the blades approaching angle to take a steeper approach. This deflection obviously sends the blade directly into your skin instead of gliding across the surface. If you chose a heavier full hollow 5/8 6/8 blade it would be less likely the blade would be carelessly deflected into an angle that cuts the user. The blades require more overhead with honing, stropping and as I pointed out an experience level of proper sharpness cognition the shavette does not.
