The Shake Sharp Razor

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by PLANofMAN, Aug 13, 2012.

  1. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    You can read his continuing adventures with the Stanford 5 second sharpener here: http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/the-stanford-5-second-sharpener.29524/page-4#post-527559
     
  2. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I recently had the opportunity to talk to gorgo (Don Moore). Some of you may remember him posting a thread about reducing his razor collection, and I asked him what would happen to his neat little world if he ended up liking the Shake Sharp razor. His response was as follows:

    "Fair question. You'll have to ask me when I've given it a fair shake.

    Off top of my head I'd say if (1) the sharpener works or can be restored to functionality, (2) it shaves as well - bearded or not - as the two I have settled on and (3) it seems well made enough to last another [ballpark estimate of my remaining lifespan] approximately forty years, then I'd consider chasing one down and parting with the two I have. As I said before, from what you described, it definitely could be someone's end-all, be-all razor...but for me, all three of those conditions would have to be met."

    Gorgo has graciously given me permission to post links to his blog, where he reviewed his own Shake Sharp razor that he acquired recently.* gorgo's reviews are excellent and thoroughly done.
    Review of the Shake Sharp Razor from modo's blog
    He also tested stainless blades in it as well. This is his conclusion.
    Testing Stainless Blades in the Shake Sharp Razor

    *Note, gorgo believed that the concave dishing on the hone was caused by blade wear. I explained to him that it was a design feature of the shake sharp and was not caused by hone wear. He will return it to it's original placement and try it that way for a while. It will be interesting to see which way he ultimately decides to go with. For myself, I don't want to potentially break my razors, so I'll leave well enough alone, regardless of gorgo's final decision.:cool:
     
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  3. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    These razors sound awesome I have three carbon steel blades (courtesy of our dear friend Gorgo) to try out in them. I've been keeping an eye out, but not looking so hard that I go crazy. I'm glad you guys found something that works so great for you!
     
  4. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I knew that could be an issue when I started reviewing these. If you spot one, you might want to run it past some of the posters in this thread. It would be a shame to start a bidding war among ourselves. At this point I'm only looking for the black handled version.:) gorgo was the only bidder on his razor, and he got it for a very good price.
     
  5. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Briefly breaking my self-imposed exile for this occasion. I felt I owed it to Ryan to tell him he was right about this unique razor, so I did.

    The Shake Sharp is excellent - so excellent that I feel no need to bid on any others that come up, meaning no one will get bid competition from me. They're apparently pretty rare, so be prepared to wait awhile.

    I just did my 2nd carbon shave using a Blade Man blade - a generally good carbon, in my experience. The shave was finally BBS but nicky and tuggy, despite numerous shakes. This was puzzling, given my last few results with the Shakey, and since the Blade Man never did me this way before.

    Since lather and all other factors were the same, I can attribute this OK but less than stellar shave to a couple things (maybe). First, a Silver Star blade is what I used in my inaugural shave and Blade Man ain't nowhere near the Silver Star's class. Second, I flipped the hone back to the original, curved side before this shave. Whether that has anything to do with it, I dunno but I'm not going to be flipping the flippin' stone back and forth every shave just to find out. I really think the Blade Man just isn't as good of a blade and actually performs better in my Ranger Tech, one of only two DEs I have left now, and where Blade Man always shaved nick-free before this one.

    Plan is also correct that the Shakey's aggressiveness can be "tuned" slightly by altering the angle you hold it, giving you much more control than you get with typical DEs. That's another plus for the Shake Sharp I hadn't realized. This razor just keeps getting better and better...I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Gillette or some similar concern bought out the maker just to bury the threat of the Shake Sharp for good.

    G.
     
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  6. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    I understand what you mean, I'm sure I've been in a bidding war with some TSD members. My train of thought is that either I'll get it if I'm blessed, or I'll donate my carbon blades to someone who can get a lot of use out of them. So if you want them or if Gorgo wants them back, I'll send them; since they just sit in my wooden mug waiting to be used.
     
  7. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    No, keep them (and if I sent you a Silver Star, do try it out). I do NOT need them back since I now know the Shakey is going to extend the usability of the ones I already have -- which is the only reason I rolled the dice bidding in the first place. Please, keep them, use them, save them for a shakey day, but don't ditch them.
     
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  8. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    I'm just not for taking something from someone who gets such good use out of something without repaying it. If you give me something this time, I'll have no choice but to send you something back.
     
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  9. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Hang on to them, I'll start another pass around of the shake sharp when the current round is finished. I'll keep it open for members who are consistently active and have been here for a while. :) Be ready to wait until Christmas time though.
     
    Ryan Bales likes this.
  10. Ryan B

    Ryan B Knight of the Soapocracy

    Nice man. The Shake Sharp is just one of those things that if the opportunity presents itself, then I'll use it. If by some fickle finger of fate I can't, then I'll live through the joy of other people using it. But Christmas isn't too far off so definitely remember me when the list comes out ;).
     
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  11. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    First shave with the Shake Sharp, Friday October 12, 2012
    [​IMG]
    • Prep: Brush soaking in cold water, face wash with Noxzema Triple Clean, cold shower
    • Razor: 1945 Shavety First Shake Sharp Razor (On Tour from Ryan, thank you sir)
    • Blade: NOS Vintage Gillette Super Blue Blade (thanks Ryan)
    • Brush: Semogue SOC Cherrywood Boar
    • Soap: De Vergulde Hand Extra Fris Shave Soap (from the Netherlands, thanks Mike)
    • AS: Aqua Velva Classic Ice Blue Cooling Aftershave
    • ASB: Arko Cool Menthol After Shave Cream (thanks Jeff)
    • Post: Cold Water Rinse, Double Splash Of Aftershave
    Is it a DE? A SE? Well it is a little of both.

    The Shake Sharp was manufactured by Shavety First, New York, NY. It uses a double edge blade, but only has a single edge exposed. I have it on loan from Ryan (PLANofMAN) as part of a tour. I will be using this razor for a week before sending it off, so my SOTD pictures may be a little boring but I will try to mix things up.

    Ryan was also gracious enough to send along some NOS Vintage Gillette Super Blue Blades. I have had some in the past, but none that have been as fresh and "new" as these.

    Mike (macaronus) was the first to use this on tour. Being in the Netherlands he was kind enough to send along some De Vergulde Hand Soaps. WOW, this stuff smells amazing, I cannot tell you how much I love the scent, but more on the soap later.

    Jeff (Shanman) had sent me a tube of the Arko Menthol Cool After Shave Cream. I have never used this product before, but thought that it would pair nicely with the Aqua Velva.

    So onto the shave...

    The scent of this soap is amazingly fresh, one of the cleanest scents that I have smelled. It produced a thick luxurious lather in no time that felt silky soft on my skin. I am normally a tallow fan, but this soap produced a lather as good as Tabac or MWF. After one use I can easily say this soap will become a regular part of my rotation.

    The build quality of this old razor in far better than many from the same era. Just looking at the picture you can see how well this razor has stood the test of time. I love SE razors but what I do not love about them is the lack of choice in quality blades. This seems to be the perfect marriage between a DE and SE. The blade exposure is along the lines of Schick Injector, in fact the shave is more like an injector than that of either a SE or DE.

    The first pass have me better than DFS results, by two passes I had near a BBS, and with a few minor touch ups I can honestly say that I had one of the best shaves of my life. I cannot comment about the effectiveness of the sharpening mechanism of the razor, but the performance is out of this world. With just one shave under my belt I could see adding this to my rotation and removing a couple of razors.

    I used the Arko Cool Menthol After Shave Cream before applying the Aqua Velva. Although menthol is listed, it is not an extreme menthol blast. It is a nice product worthy of adding for those dry fall and winter days.

    A good double splash of Aqua Velva and I can take on the day, feeling good about my shave and smelling like man. Every shave day should be this good!
     
  12. macaronus

    macaronus Sir Nice-a-Lot

    Way to go, mate! :happy088:
     
  13. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    The Shake Sharp could perhaps be classed as a mono-DE and so is in a class by itself (but certainly not for that reason alone).
     
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  14. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I wonder how many of these Shake Sharp Razors get listed on auction sites as "Weird old razor, don't know if it works or what kind of blades it takes, thanks for looking."
    My Monobilt DE razor just hissed at you. :D But I agree that it is in a class by itself. Shaves similar to an injector, looks and handles like a SE, but takes the best and most plentiful blades out there (DE)...and sharpens carbon blades (or if you want to look at it from a slightly different angle, it has an automatic soap and stubble ejector built in). Not to mention that you never have to worry about uneven blade wear. When one edge of the blade finally gets dull, you have a brand new edge on the other side of the blade. That alone is helping me get one or two extra comfortable shaves out of a blade. It's the logical endpoint of a perfected safety razor design. (In my opinion) YMMV.;)

    The only way to improve it would be to have it also take SE and injector blades, and also transform into a straight razor. And be made of colbalt steel. And have an l.e.d. backlit handle engraving that read "EvoRazor" that was powered by shaking the razor.
    :bounce015:
     
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  15. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Not on this. We differ only on which blades to hone with it.
     
  16. GDCarrington

    GDCarrington Burma Shave

    If you are not careful you will invent the Fusion 3000 and Gillette will sell millions of them! ;)
     
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  17. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    Nope, we agree, I think it's pretty much only good for honing carbons.:)
    lol:happy102::happy097:
     
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  18. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Hm. Last I read I thought you, or one of your borrowers, was getting OK results honing stainless. Glad to know it wasn't just me that didn't work out for.
     
  19. Azarius

    Azarius Must have had his WHEATies

    I love that term "Mono-DE" or maybe Mono-Exposed DE.

    Today I had another nice shave with the Shake Sharp and Super Blue blade combo. I was able to get a 2 1/2 pass BBS, which makes it a great razor in my book.

    I think I have a Silver Star Carbon blade or two, I need to look as I would love to try the honing aspect of the razor. If not I have a carbon Treet or two left.
    [​IMG]
     
  20. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    I know the Super Blues look like brand new blades, but they are silicone coated carbon blades that rolled off the forges in 1961. Dry them carefully after every shave.:) Once the silicone comes off (after 1 or 2 shaves), they should hone like any other carbon.

    I think you are probably thinking about the "Stanford 5 Second Sharpener" which I also sent along with the razor. I've had mixed results with it, as it takes a while to figure out the "sweet" spot for each blade, and it's easy to ruin blades figuring it out. I will say, based on my experience, that it works better on carbon blades than stainless, and works better on either blade than a PTFE or equivalent coated blade.

    In the shake sharp, I do get more shaves from a stainless blade than I do in other razors. I feel that is due more to the razor's "one edge at a time" design than any sharpening features it provides.
     
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