Experimental SEvette

Never having tried a DEvette and with no motivation to, I wonder how much like an '11 R41 it is? The R41 has the DE blade basically floating in space, being restrained only by the top cap of the razor, but with a huge blade exposure. The comb is there but doesn't really do very much. It's a safety razor in that it limits the depth of gouges to under 1/2" (that might be a small exaggeration :-)  ).

I can say without compromising the agreement to not discuss the merits of the shave with Brian S, that the SEvettes definitely do not all taste like chicken.

It's a good question about how close the R41 is to a devette, and I have bakelite DEs with similar geometry and a massive blade gap.
These razors all give a very very close and very very long lasting shaves.
The devette gives the absolute closest shave with the absolute least irritation (as you have discovered with the sevette) but the other razors are much smoother since, although as you point out the guard does not now act in a safety capacity, the guard serves to stretch the skin which greatly improves the experience.
The devette and sevette leave the skin calmest since nothing touches it apart from the blade edge, but the Spitfire R41 and those 1920's bakelites are almost as aggressive but much smoother during the shave due to the skin stretching action of the guard.

And it is exciting to hear that the OCMM sevette behaves differently to the sevette 1912 - this means there is a lot more to be discovered.
Next stop Clogpruf and G-Bar sevettes eh?

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Here are the 2 modified OCMMs that BrianK did for me.

BrianK, I'm going to use that last picture as evidence in the court room after I use my OCMM SEvette.

I thought that you'd appreciate that! Ketchup was the best that I could come up with.

Now I look forward to your evaluation.

Have you looked at one with a blade in place yet?

Both Brian S and Brian K have a few shaves under our belt with the OCMM SEvette and it's time to post. I'm Brian K for those who don't know. Brian S will be here in due time.

The assumption was, as compared to the 1912 SEvette, that the flat plate that the OCMM has supporting the blade would eliminate any flexing and vibration and IMO that was a total success. I got absolutely no flexing that I could detect. In that regard it is very much like a Rolls.

The shave was absolutely top notch and I think it's the closest shave I have ever gotten. That may or may not have caused a problem. Time should tell what exactly it was. I got what might have been an ingrown hair, but if it was it was a very short lived one. We also have a lot of deer flies now and they inject their hypodermic mouth parts in and sometimes an infection can occur from that. It could also have been that and I suspect it was. It was not the typical ingrown hair that I got many years ago (40?).

The shave is very comfortable. Now understand, I am comfortable using the Rolls which is a straight on a stick, and the Muhle '11 R41, so for me there was no learning curve to use this at all. I know about skin stretching and what not, so I used the razor like I'd been using it right along. There might be a learning curve for noobs to wedge blades. Yes, I know it's not a wedge blade, but essentially it is. There is one difference. With the Rolls I had to use a deliberate "forceful" forward stroke. Sorry, but that's the best I can describe it. Virtually no pressure on the blade inward onto the skin though. With the OCMM SEvette the "forceful" stroke isn't required. Use the same type stroke you would for any very aggressive razor. To begin, allow much more time for a shave than ordinarily.

One thing that new users of straights do is to ease into a full shave with their straight razors. That might be a way to ease into the use of the SEvette also. Shave the cheeks with the SEvette and do the contours with a safety razor. When you get comfortable with the technique required then do more as you see fit and are capable.

I love different shave experiences, and different this definitely is. It's a keeper in my cabinet along with the 1912 SEvette. It's the shave of a Rolls with no maintenance required. I love that! The Rolls gives such a fantastic shave as does this.

So if you have ever wanted to try a Rolls Razor but don't want the maintenance of honing and stropping, there is a very close approximation to one and all it takes is an OCMM that has seen much better days. The razor doesn't even need to have working blade stops since the blade won't have the comb to work against after the modification. Personally I would never modify a nice and fully functional OCMM. If you don't mind blade flexing, and if you use an R41 you have felt that flexing, then the 1912 SEvette will work for you. I won't say that one is better than the other, they do similar jobs differently. I'm keeping mine. I see both of these getting a lot of use by me.

Yes, the OCMM SEvette is one aggressive beast. However, with proper attention an amazingly close shave can be had. I have not used a Rolls but I am quite familiar with the OCMM. The angle is crucially important as is the no pressure mantra (in fact, try negative pressure).

I probably should have waited for a non-work day to use this but I knew it would take more time so I just made sure to alott for it. I would say that my shave time doubled as I was quite diligent to maintain my angle. Lather is also even more important. Don't try this razor out with some airy lather that I keep seeing everywhere. I was able to get a close shave that lasted about 16 hours. My shave the next day was simply a one pass cleanup.

This is definitely not a razor for the SE passerby. Those who love the SE way should definitely consider experiencing this. To help that along I have a spare OCMM SEvette that BrianK modified for me that I would offer up to go on a pass around. If there's an interest, then we can get it set up here through DFS as long as andrewjs18 is ok with it.

The lawsuit against McDonalds for their coffee being hot comes to mind.

There is a very interseting documentary that includes this lawsuit. The woman suffered third degree burns to her thighs and privates. It was found that McD heated their coffee to a scalding hot temperature so that it would stay fresh longer.

Yes, the OCMM SEvette is one aggressive beast. However, with proper attention an amazingly close shave can be had. I have not used a Rolls but I am quite familiar with the OCMM. The angle is crucially important as is the no pressure mantra (in fact, try negative pressure).

I probably should have waited for a non-work day to use this but I knew it would take more time so I just made sure to alott for it. I would say that my shave time doubled as I was quite diligent to maintain my angle. Lather is also even more important. Don't try this razor out with some airy lather that I keep seeing everywhere. I was able to get a close shave that lasted about 16 hours. My shave the next day was simply a one pass cleanup.

This is definitely not a razor for the SE passerby. Those who love the SE way should definitely consider experiencing this. To help that along I have a spare OCMM SEvette that BrianK modified for me that I would offer up to go on a pass around. If there's an interest, then we can get it set up here through DFS as long as andrewjs18 is ok with it.

go for it!

This is brilliant! So Brian (K) are you saying the big difference between the OCMM sevette and the sevette 1912 is that the latter has that R41 flexy blade feel?

And crucially, are the shaves from the sevette 1912 and OCMM sevette equally as good in terms of end result?

From your description, the OCMM sevette sounds like it might feel a bit like an injector...
...and as you know, I've already made an injector sevette/ivette from a Schick E but did not find the shave as nice as from the sevette 1912[Image: 20150729_083919.jpg]
Somehow the blade felt too rigid and "needley" (a word someone else coined to describe the blade feel of the devette) but of course another incredible result.
There's a veterinary instrument which is essentially a guardless Schick O so probably shaves in a similar manner. I've been trying to get hold of one, so if anyone has easy access to veterinary suppliers please let me know!

I wonder if the Featherweight would make a good sevette in terms of blade rigidity - they are relatively plentiful here in UK and with the guard intact are my least favourite SE!

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Marcus, I would need to revisit the 1912 to compare shaves. That'll happen in time. But I have to tell you that of the 2 modified razors I preferred the OCMM SEvette because of blade stability.

I'm not the best person to gauge blade flex. I initially make note of it, then I never notice it again. But yes, I noticed that the 1912 was somewhat as I remembered the R41 feeling on my first use of it. Understand, that was a few years ago and I'm trying to dust off the memory.

The FW... nice thought! Full support for the blade, inexpensive, and plentiful. Too, it only has 4 places that need to be cut through. I'd wager that it would make a great SEvette. Yet another razor where I sent out all of my extras, so if someone wants me to mod' one I'll do it for them if they pay the shipping both ways, but I have none that I can modify and report back on the way it worked.

More and more interesting - I'm keen to try a sevette with the OCMM style mechanics to compare it to the flexy edgy sevette 1912 (which I really really like) but I love my intact OCMM and they are relatively scarce here, so I won't be modding mine anytime soon.

But the Featherweight sounds like an ideal candidate...

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