shavette?

I was looking at the shavette "Parker SRW Stainless Steel Straight Edge Barber Razor" today.
I'm hoping to improve shaping my van dike beard. I am having a hard time with my DE. Shavette take a 1/2 blade. Can I break a DE blade in half? Are shvettes any good?

http://shop.ebay.ca/howard1616/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686


ask this guy. i think he was selling them a while ago.

i used a shavette. mistakes hurt...

toes said:

I was looking at the shavette "Parker SRW Stainless Steel Straight Edge Barber Razor" today.
I'm hoping to improve shaping my van dike beard. I am having a hard time with my DE. Shavette take a 1/2 blade. Can I break a DE blade in half? Are shvettes any good?

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Yes you can simply snap a DE blade in half (while it is still in it's wrapper).

Of the Shavette style razors that use a 1/2 DE blade, the Parker is one of the best, and far superior to the chintzy Dovo Shavette.

As for are they any good, most of the hardcore straight shavers would never touch one. The difference in weight, and blade length compared with an actual straight means they shave entirely differently than an actual straight.

The short, thin, flexible, super sharp blade also means you will be in for a steep learning curve filled with a lot of cuts/nicks/weepers.

michiganlover said:

Yes you can simply snap a DE blade in half (while it is still in it's wrapper).

Of the Shavette style razors that use a 1/2 DE blade, the Parker is one of the best, and far superior to the chintzy Dovo Shavette.

As for are they any good, most of the hardcore straight shavers would never touch one. The difference in weight, and blade length compared with an actual straight means they shave entirely differently than an actual straight.

The short, thin, flexible, super sharp blade also means you will be in for a steep learning curve filled with a lot of cuts/nicks/weepers.

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+1

You bend the blade while in the wrapper until it snaps.I have a Sanguine one that has the same blade loading as Parker. Remember you have 2 spike points when you shave and I got several vertical cuts on the cheek from them.I think they are good for trimming and precision work maybe,but nothing to do with a real straight.

My barber uses a shavette (health inspectors here demand a disposable blade). If you know how to use it, it will give a wonderful shave. He also breaks the DE blades in half while still in the wax paper.

The closest you will get to a real straight shave with a shavette, is the Dovo Shavette with the the Green holder for the rigid Persona Blades.

(That is apart from the Feather AC, which costs more than a real straight.)

The length of the blade is closer to the real thing. I agree that they don't have the same weight as a real straight but it is good when traveling and as a transition from DE.

Be careful with the shavetes that use the half DE blade, my experience was that you are more likely to cut/nick your self with them, this is because of right angle edges on the ends of the blades as opposed to rounded edges on most straights

I tried the Parker shavette (the one with the white plastic scales covered with Arabic writing - my wife refers to it as the "carry-on special"). The learning curve for getting a decent shave was too long and steep, so I'm back to DE. But if you're just looking to trim up your beard, it might be just the ticket.

As far as whether they're "any good," that's a loaded question. Lots of professional barbers use them for straight-razor shaves because of the disposable blade. But the blade is shorter than a true straight, and the balance is different. OTOH, you don't have to maintain the edge, so that's one less thing to worry about.

As far as shavettes go, Parkers seem to be pretty well-made. The tang, shank, and blade holder are pretty heavy stainless steel with brass (?) fittings. The scales, though, aren't particularly high quality. It's my understanding that on the "stainless" model they're just chromed plastic.

For blades, you can use a DE blade that you've (carefully) snapped in half or cut with kitchen shears. You can also buy half-blades; the advantage is that you don't have to worry about cutting yourself; the disadvantage is that if you end up not using the shavette, you also have a box of unusable razor blades.

Speaking of which, I'd be happy to PIF you the shavette and a nearly-full box of half-blades if you want. PM me if you're interested.

I like the Parker SRW. The Arabic writing on it is especially cool.

I've used it a handful of times against the Fromm Hair Shaper (around $5 from Sally) and the Hair Shaper worked much better for me. In fact, it gave me my closest shave ever. That was with a Personna blade. The next closest shave I've had was with a Gem 1912.

I have a few real straights that I have yet to make shave ready, so keep in mind I don't have that knowledge. But I can't imagine a shave getting much closer than my Hair Shaper shaves.

I suppose any issue you'd have with straights and Shavettes would be largely based on your general manual dexterity. My first "straight" shave was with a Parker SR1, and I never had any real issues with cuts, nicks, irritation using either the Parker or the Fromm. But I'm also very good, generally, with my hands.

I'd say get both a Parker SRW and a Hair Shaper. Though I don't use the Parker any longer, I like the look and feel of it.

I jumped in the deep end early on... picked up a parker SRW, and then when buying different blades to try I drifted over to DE and then SE and injectors... only because I'm one of those ppl who has to try everything myself.

If you're careful with the parker, you can get a good shave out of it. Watch the angle, watch the pressure. Any mistakes with it will result in blood.

I'm probably in the minority, but I get excellent shaves with a Dovo shavette with DE blade. Its what I use for my daily weekday shave, and use the real straights on the weekend. The Parker and Feather razors seem to be recommended more though.

Most of the things about using the Parker have been covered. I use the Parkers, I have 3 of them, the SRW, the SRB, and the stainless steel model. Of the 3 I've found the SRW to be the best. I get very good shaves with any of them, but then all I use for my straights are the disposable blade ones. I have 7 different ones, from the Parkers up to the Feather's and the Kai's. I also have both the Kai and the Feather Japanese style straights.

The Parker's and any other disposable blade straights do have a learning curve, but if you stick with them its no worse than a regular straight. Remember that you are shaving with an open blade razor which is what ANY straight is. So go slow when using one, practice, and get your technique down pat.

Thanks for the responses. I am on the fence about buying one. The price is OK at $20. I'm afraid I will buy it use it once or twice and put it in the closet of no return.

toes said:

Thanks for the responses. I am on the fence about buying one. The price is OK at $20. I'm afraid I will buy it use it once or twice and put it in the closet of no return.

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Down here in Sydney Australia I paid about $25 for a Wahl razor pretty much the same as what you are talking about. I got to "work quality" shaves within about 4 attempts. It gave me the confidence to give it a go without having to worry about stropping, honing, or damaging a blade by dropping the razor while working out how to hold it.

toes said:

Thanks for the responses. I am on the fence about buying one. The price is OK at $20. I'm afraid I will buy it use it once or twice and put it in the closet of no return.

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The thing is to realize that you're first couple shaves will likely result in blood... but then what razor doesn't draw blood the first couple uses as you figure it out?