just getting into this

hello all so im just getting into this am looking at shavettes and straights. I have used a DE but really want a shavette or straight .. any suggestions or help would be appreciated very much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi, there is a huge difference between a shavette and a straight razor. The only similarity is the way you hold them. The blade feel on your face is totally different with a straight compared to a shavette.
A straight is more forgiving especially with a wedge or near wedge grind . It’s easier to cut yourself with a shavette IHMO.
With a shavette you won’t need a strop nor stones. You can get a cheap shavette just to wet your feet but the way to go is with a real straight blade IMHO.
Good luck in your new journey.

thanks for the info. now i just have to decide what to get and from where.

My perspective is that for beginners, a shavette is actually preferable. Anecdotally was destroying edges during stropping and it got quite expensive sending for rehoning. Ultimately gained proficiency honing and stropping such that all maintenance could be done at home. So all in, with 2 Damascus razors, quality strop, Sharpton glass stones have about $4000 invested will never see back (would sell for fair offer). Love straight shaving but on my best day looking at about an hour from prep to finished with maintenance - just too time consuming. Mostly DE shaving these days thereby cutting the time in half or less with little delta in the quality of results. Would suggest a shavette will get you in and out in about half hour without cuts and eliminate a lot of cost to boot (albeit you will be disposing of blades which was a major draw for me re using a straight).


More than any other methodology, straight is very dependent on prep - DON'T cut corners and use quality soap. For slickness, tough to beat iColoni Mango, ABC Crème is fantastic too. Find the Grooming Dept is good too but doesn't shine as much for me straight shaving as it does DE where by far it is the king of soaps. Wet the hell out of your whiskers and really work the soap in.

I think The Art of Shaving SR would be one of the best choice available!

Honestly I prefer a shoulder less blade. Looks good and you never have to worry about getting the shoulder up on the strop or stone. Get something you grow into. A Bismarck 2 is truly a fine shaver. Go slow and remover to only raise the spine off your skin about the same thickness of the blade. Nothing worse than a steep swipe that digs into the skin and watching the soap turn pink.

I, too, think a shavette is the way to go, but only if you get a shavette that holds AC-style blades rather than DE blades.

Everybody is always talking about how a shavette is less forgiving than a straight razor, and that's true, but it's MORE true when you are using a DE-based shavette. The Feather shavettes that take AC blades are amazing. For a beginner, the Feather SS is probably the easiest to use because it has a little bump that helps with skin stretching and makes cuts and nicks less likely. Get a guarded blade like the Feather ProGuard or the equivalent Kai guarded blade (I forget the exact name, maybe "MG" or something like that?).

Start shaving just your cheeks on both sides, using the left hand for the left side of the face and the right hand for the right side. Do just the cheeks for a week or so to get the feel for it before you move to more challenging parts of the face/chin/neck. Use an extremely light touch. Think of just squeegee-ing the lather off the face. The stubble just disappears. It's really quite remarkable.

thanks all for the info.