shavette v's traditional

S

smartidog

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8
Well I imagine this is not the first time that this has been asked, but what the hell.

At the moment i have a very cheap shavette and am contemplating a real cutthroat, or am I better off getting a higher quality shavette that holds the blade better etc, and which is sharpest out of the two, a well stropped straight or a shavette with a good quality blade, and there lays another question, which DE blades to go for?

Enlighten me,

Jon
 
You're right to think that this has come up before Jon. If you do a search for "Shavette" on this board, you'll find a few threads to look through. Whilst there are a few fans, the majority far prefer a normal straight razor I think it's fair to say. As for sharpness, it depends what you mean, but the drastically reduced cutting angle of a DE blade means that it cuts more efficiently - skin as well as whiskers. That's not the point though really ... the edge of a well honed cut throat will be a great deal smoother and less likely to cause irritation.
 
You are quite right in thinking the Straight is a smoother shaver than the shavette. I began with DE's and shavettes back in 2005 and within a few months moved to a straight. Yes, there are learning curves for honing the straight, but there is a lot of help available. I can safely say that the straight will give a smoother shave with less nicks and scratches compared to the shavette. This is because the sharp corners of the shavette blade can often approach the skin in the wrong/unintended angle.

My advice is to start with a relatively cheap carbon steel razor. Be careful though - you don't want to get a £20-30 razor from eBay as you may end up getting a sub-standard knife which will only ever be as sharp as a butter knife. These are often sold on eBay as straight razor sets (strop, sometimes strop paste, razor, brush and so on). Other times, they may be marketed as "genuine Pakistani steel / razor" (not meaning to offend anyone here, just pointing out that these razors are sold with that description).
 
Shavette in my experience was great for getting the technique down, and "easy" because you don't have to strop. Though I was forever getting irritation in comparison to a "real straight".

I would say they are more aggressive which isn't great on sensitive skin
 
That's very much my experience, al_kaholik. Good to get the feel of an open or flip razor at first, but too many spots and imperfections on my face (although I've seen worse), meant I got a little irritation and nicks and cuts. The traditional straight worked a treat and had many benefits.
 
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