I bought a Dovo shavette on Saturday, and shaved with it that evening and again last night (monday night) and just had a couple of quick questions to make sure i'm not doing it all wrong. The week before i bought the shavette i had looked at as much info as i could find on the net, unfortunately i came across The Den after i had bought it, but i feel like i've got off to a decent start, only a few little nicks and a few patches of my face are very smooth! I'm having trouble getting close shave on my neck, and i have seen another thread on here that deals with that, but was wondering if there were any shavette 'only' tips for the tricky areas. Neck and chin really. Also, i didn't notice it first time round, but i did last night, maybe, 3 or 4 times, mid-stroke i felt the blade catch on a particularly thick hair and almost felt like i was pulling the hair out, rather than shaving it. Is this to do with the shavette's lack of weight or just the way straight shaving is? I don't remember noticing it when in the past i have wet shaved with Mach 3's/Fusion etc. I think everything else i have found answers to else where on this remarkable forum!
It could be the blade you're using. Try getting a sample pack. Also it could be the pressure you're using.
It'll take a while to get technique down. Light touch and skin stretching will go a long way toward better shaves.
Cheers oscar. Yeah i saw those sample packs while i was shopping around, are there significant differences between blade manufacturers?
It's like finding a soap or cream that works for you. The same goes for blades. Try Astra Sp's I love em and they're cheap
BIG TIME DIFFERENCE. You will find blades the most YMMV item in the shaving world. What works for me may not work for you AT ALL. Take blade suggestions with a grain of salt. Try as many as you can (sample packs) and let YOUR FACE tell you what works and what doesn't. Let the hunt begin
Your angle has ALOT to do with the smoothness of the cut. perfect your technique and it'll get much easier
I have limited experience with shavettes. I do use them occasionally but shave daily with straight razors. Blades are important, I preferred Astra but remember that means nothing, your face might have other preferences.
It is very much true that finding "your" blade is very important. Equally as important though is your technique. The chin and neck areas are notoriously tricky for many. (me too) Try different ways of holding the shavette. I use an un-conventional hold for the neck area. I leave only one finger on the tail, three fingers against one side of the blade body, and the thumb presses the blade body against the three fingers. I like to let the handle "pinch" my little finger on the tail. It helps to stabilize the hold. Finding the best (for you) blade-face angle, in combination with your hold will come with experience. I cannot shave ATG on my neck with the shavette. One pass WTG, and one XTG works best for me. (YMMV though...) Remember to always prep well, as this will help to eliminate a variable. Best of luck to you and let us know how you're doing!
Thanks for all the advice! I've tried holding it in the 'proper' way, and i do for most of the shave, but my arm gets in the way of the my face and the mirror so been holding differently in places. i will definatly try that one out though Bristle, thanks. Had another go this morning before work, and even though i've only done it 3 times so far, i seem to have less stubberly patches. although i don't think i quite prep'ed well enough as my neck follicles were a bit bloody afterwards. although it's fairly smooth Still getting to grips with abreveations though.. YMMV? ATG? WTG? XTG?
http://theshaveden.com/forums/threads/acronyms-abbreviations.22209/ YMMV - Your Mileage May Vary You'll learn the acronyms and get used to them quickly. YMMV is one you'll see a lot. You may find that the Dovo blade works very well for you in your Shavette while someone else can't get a good shave from a Dovo and gets much better results from a Derby blade or a Shark blade. There aren't as many blade choices for Shavettes as there are for DE's (double edge razors) but there's plenty to sample and choose from.
I use a dovo shavette mostly for lining up my beard but I recommebd using the green holder for Dovo. It uses a longer single edge personna shaper blade. I found that this gave me a better shave as opposed to snapping a double edge in half .
Can you buy the green holders on their own? i have the red and two black ones that came with it. Been using the red one so far with lord saloon super stainless.
http://www.roedter-messer.de/shavette.htm http://www.scharferladen.de/shop/NASSRASUR-SOLINGEN/Shavette/Shavette-Klingenhalter-Gruen::121.html
