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Shavette vs DE experiment!

straight is a slab of steel with edge, a shavette uses disposable 1/2 DE style blade set like a straight.. your barber probably uses a shavette.

+1. My barber now uses a shavette because of sanitary reasons. Plus, it is easier to just pop in a fresh blade than to strop when you have 5 men waiting for shaves. He is in his late 80's, and still has quite a steady hand - always good when shaving someone!
 
Now some 13 hours post shave, I have the impression whilst stroking WTG that stubble regrowth is more pronounced on the DE side than on the shavette side but obviously I will not be able to confirm this until later on for a preliminary estimate and after further shaves to remove the left right bias in the experiment.
 
Oh okay. Well here is a picture from the website of the equipment:

not to thread hijack, but i was curious about this straight in the picture... the accompanying text from that site is:

The Barber Pole exclusively offers imported British high-quality personal care products by Truefitt & Hill. Their reputation for excellence, high style, elegance and timeless quality is reflected in the superb range of colognes, after shaves, shaving creams, razors, grooming accessories, and more. Truefitt & Hill's products have continued to cater to the Royal family since 1805 as well as gentlemen aboard the R.M.S. Starline Titanic in 1912.

The Barber Pole would like to carry on this tradition by offering the everyday gentleman a personal touch of royalty and class. Come and experience these high quality products with each cut and shave or purchase your own supply.

It's hard to discern from their website whether they just sell these products or use them as well.
 
After 24 hours, stubble is growing back on both sides and neither SWMBO nor myself can detect any significant difference in stubble amount. IMO, there might be ever so slightly more stubble on the DE side but it is so little that it might just be wishful thinking on my part since I usually shaves with straights. Further shaves are neededto tell for sure.

As correctly mentioned above by a number of you, there are a number of parameters that can skew the perceived results either way. So far though, although inconclusive, the experiment has proved interesting to me because I was not expecting that any difference there might be, would be so marginal.

Tomorrow, I will reset my face for a further experiment on Saturday by shaving my entire face with a regular straight.
 
not to thread hijack, but i was curious about this straight in the picture... the accompanying text from that site is:



It's hard to discern from their website whether they just sell these products or use them as well.

I think they actually use the products. I will be giving them a call so lets see but the owner worked at T&H Toronto location before. Seems like a great shop and I am considering going there for a haircut and shave in March because I have a wedding to attend. Since im still a newbie at DE I don't want to mess up my shave that day. So I was wondering if his shaving equipment (the straight or shavette) can provide me with a very close shave.
 
I think they actually use the products. I will be giving them a call so lets see but the owner worked at T&H Toronto location before. Seems like a great shop and I am considering going there for a haircut and shave in March because I have a wedding to attend. Since im still a newbie at DE I don't want to mess up my shave that day. So I was wondering if his shaving equipment (the straight or shavette) can provide me with a very close shave.

If the barbershop in question has a good reputation, I think you can be quite sure of that.
 
This has been a good read... considering that today, I used my shavette for the second time ever, while not feeling great and medicated.

This is the first time that my face is sore since I started with DE and such shaving.

I switched to my DE in the end as I couldn't get it right today... no cuts, but still many sore spots.
 
This has been a good read... considering that today, I used my shavette for the second time ever, while not feeling great and medicated.

This is the first time that my face is sore since I started with DE and such shaving.

I switched to my DE in the end as I couldn't get it right today... no cuts, but still many sore spots.

You did the right thing switching to the DE, slow and steady is the way to go with straight razors. Never do anything you do not feel comfortable with and stay away from ATG passes in the beginning. You might even want to consider getting a regular straight because their weight and slightly duller blade makes for a more forgiving shave. Do not be discouraged by the blade maintainence issue, learning to strop is not especially difficult. When the blade feels a bit dull you can revive it by stropping it on a separate strop on which abrasive metal oxides have been applied. When this does not do the trick any more, you can send the razor away to have it honed by a professional if you do not want to learn that skill yourself.
 
How about trying half-half with the shavette vs. regular straight. Would be interesting to see the difference in your opinion of the two shaves there :)

Or straight vs. DE

or both :)
 
I have been toying with these ideas myself and I will probably carry them out to satisfy my curiosity even if the results will have to be taken with a significant pinch of salt.
 
I'm pleased by the result of this experiment, for two reasons. One, I can't imagine getting a closer shave than I get with my 2011 R41, restored Old Type, or MMOC. Two, by (limited) experience and inclination, I know that safety razors are right for me. It's a comfort to know that the results are virtually indistinguishable from what I might get with a straight.
 
The second experiment wherein I did the exact same thing just switching sides so that the right side was now the shavette side and the left side was the DE side might very well be a repeat of the first. It is now 10 hours post shave and I cannot feel anything different on either side of my face. I will do two further experiments on this setup before switching to a regular straight/DE experiment.
 
After two further experiments, as above, I am calling this a draw. IMHO, there is no significant difference in shave quality between a Dovo Shavette and a Slim Adjustable set at nine when both have the same blade. Next up I will compare the slim with a regular straight but I think I will post that in a separate thread. Here is an unfortunately poor quality picture of both razors and the personna blade.
 

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