Derby (Shaving Factory) Shavette

I bought a dirt cheap Derby (Shaving Factory on the scales) shavette and I'm going to start my test run into straight shaving today. The razor isn't actually all that bad, although it took some work to get the derby SE blade in there just right and I had to push down on it (with the waxed paper) to get to in straight. The blade holder is all metal and it actually has some decent weight to it surprisingly enough. I decided to run it over the hairs on the back of my hand and it took them off like they were nothing. VERY sharp. I also see a little tiny nick on my hand, so yeah, this should be entertaining when I take it to my face. Of course, that was with no protection of shaving cream. I'll be shaving with it later on this afternoon and post the gory details afterwards.

I know this is a rather harsh way of learning initially with a manufactured blade , but I'm pretty well read on technique, so hopefully I won't get too sliced up. The fact is though, if I can learn with a shavette and get the technique down, then once I get me a whipped dog sight unseen, it should be a breeze.

Anyways, will be posting updates later!

I finally got around to the shave. It was...better than I expected. To be honest, starting out on the sides of my face, it was pretty darned smooth and effortless. The neck irritated me a bit, but no real major damage. I did get a pretty good weeper on the chin, and at that point, after treating it, I attempted to finish up, but...the chin is going to take a whole lot of practice. I didn't wanna cause any further damage, so I switched to the Tech and finished up. Actually over all, a DFS, but wouldn't have been without finishing up with the DE. Definitely going to give in a couple of days before I try again, but I'll give it another shot then.

I'm trying the same thing with one of those "Diane" blade holders made in Pakistan (I think). It was a freebie I got from a barber friend when I told him I was getting into wetshaving. I've watched a bunch of videos and read pretty much everything on this site, so I figured the only way I was going to be able to see if I liked it or not was to actually try doing it. The results, so far, have been pretty good. The blade fit well in the holder and, although the whole apparatus felt a little light to me, it handled pretty well. I had my first trial run with it using a Derby Extra, Turtle Bay Bay Rum shaving cream, and a lot of luck. I had a similar experience to you. I'm going to get a whipped dog sight unseen as a gift to myself here in a little while, but I wanted something to practice with to see if I like it at all. I have to say, it was not as hard to do as I thought, though I think I'll have to readdress the shaving soap/cream that I use. I started out thinking that I would only do WTG on my cheeks and then switch to the DE, but the experience was going pretty well so I just did my whole face. The only tricky parts were the upper lip and chin. I even did ATG on the cheeks and neck (although that got a little dicey). I finished up with my Merkur Futur and got down to a BBS (only because I had to for work). I had a couple of nicks, but nothing serious. In fact, it was much better than my first time out with a DE, though I'm chalking that up to having a better "feel" for shaving in general now that I actually have to think about what I'm doing instead of just dragging the idiot-proof Mach 3 around my face. I'm thinking that I will make the straight razor my Sat/Sun shave since that's when I have the most time. What are you using for shaving cream, etc.? Are you using any kind of pre-shave oil?

Yeah, upper lip and chin are not a pretty thing with this shavette. It's gonna take some real strategy to be able to tackle the chin especially.

I used shave secret preshave oil and then face lathered proraso. I lathered it much wetter than usual, but it still wasn't thin enough. That short little SE blade being used like a straight can't really handle a thicker lather. Perfect lather for a DE, but not a straight. I couldn't shave with my left hand at all either. I just had to reach around the other side, although it worked pretty well. I think it will be MUCH easier once I'm able to get a heavier one.

For all my griping about Derby blades here though, I had really no issues at all using it with a shavette. They definitely work well for an EXTREMELY aggressive razor.

please guys do yourself a favor..
DO NOT USE " "Diane" blade holders made in Pakistan "
kind of shavettes to start with. I did that mistake and while they did a decent enough job the blade exposure with these cheap stuff is not even throughout..and I had a tonne of weepers for the one week I was using one of those..
get a parker or equivalent shavette..its less than 20 bucks and the difference is significant.

So...I let my face have a rest today and decided I still wanted to shave something with that little shavette. So I decided to shave my head with it. I also decided to give my Astra SP broken in half a shot to see how it performs. And you know what? It was great. Not perfect, but it felt REALLY good. I shaved the front, middle and sides of my head with just the shavette and went over the back too, but it was very difficult to totally get everything on the back of my head where I couldn't see. So I lathered up for another pass, got everything but the back totally cleaned off and finished the back off with my Tech. It was...glorious! My head is friggin completely BBS! I did clip my ear just a touch and had a couple of other slight visible nicks, but no weepers at all. Obviously though, there were plenty of invisible shallower cuts because my head was on fire when I used the alum block and aftershave. But I liked the burn! For only a second shavette shave coming from DEs, it was terrific.

Overall, a much better shave than the first time, and I take back what I said about Derbys in a shavette. I HATE Derbys in any shape form or fashion. Astra SP is MY blade!

sychodelix said:

So...I let my face have a rest today and decided I still wanted to shave something with that little shavette. So I decided to shave my head with it. I also decided to give my Astra SP broken in half a shot to see how it performs. And you know what? It was great. Not perfect, but it felt REALLY good.

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Very good. I shave my head all the time with uber sharp weapons and it isn't a big deal. Obviously, you should have some experience to enjoy the best shave but it sounds like you are swimming. My favorite head shave with a straight razor is with a Feather AC blade with a few shaves on it. The slightly milder blade does a wonderful job. You might find that out with your shavette. Use a blade that has had a couple of shaves on it - the result for me was excellent.

I really wish I had the cash to invest in a Feather AC. Japanese razors are so gorgeous. It's like shaving with a katana!

Okay...so I "shaved" with the shavette today. It was less of a shave and more of a fillet. Most of the nicks were not too bad, but the skin as a whole is very irritated and one nasty weeper cut straight into my upper lip. Carelessness and inexperience on my part for sure, but my face is way too tore up to touch the shavette any time soon. I think I'm gonna take some time off of it and let my face recover and learn to appreciate DE's just a little more. I may try a whipped dog in a few months, but for right now...I just need to heal.

Ouch.

sychodelix said:

Okay...so I "shaved" with the shavette today. It was less of a shave and more of a fillet. Most of the nicks were not too bad, but the skin as a whole is very irritated and one nasty weeper cut straight into my upper lip. Carelessness and inexperience on my part for sure, but my face is way too tore up to touch the shavette any time soon. I think I'm gonna take some time off of it and let my face recover and learn to appreciate DE's just a little more. I may try a whipped dog in a few months, but for right now...I just need to heal.

Ouch.

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Shavettes are lethal. Not a good choice IMHO for a starter. Get that whipped dog. Use the shavette for touch-up.

Nicking your lip is not uncommon but certainly unsettling. Hate it when that happens.

Yeah...it REALLY hurt. Tiny little cut, but super sensitive and a bleeder. It'll definitely be at least 3 days before I can touch my face with a razor again.