Shavettes - aggressiveness?

Is there a difference between agressiveness between shavettes? There is only one parameter to play with, and that is the blade exposure, whereas in a DE, you can play with blade exposure and blade gap too, and the combinations produce many stages of aggressiveness.

In a shavette, you can only increase or reduce how much the blade protrudes outside the holder. However, does that change it's aggressiveness? Are there any other factors contributing to it?

The user, imho, is the greatest influence on its aggressiveness. Angle/pressure/stroke etc... Additional user influences that are simply not possible with a DE.

I've noticed a considerable difference between blades for characteristics I wouldn't notice in a DE. I can tell that a Feather is a thinner, more flexible, blade than an Astra.

Definitely blade exposure has a lot to do with it. In my Dovo shavette the DE blade barely pokes out of the holder. It is a super easy almost foolproof shave. My Parker has a bit more blade exposure and will bit you in a hurry if you're not careful. I wouldn't want any more exposure than that on a DE shavette.

For hair shaper and injector shavette's it really doesn't matter. The blade is rigid, so 1/8" or 1/2" exposure, it's all the same.

But angle and pressure ultimate are the main deciding factors in how aggressive it is going to be, IMO.

I might also ads that the blade holder thickness and quality play a minor roll in your ability to manipulate the razor around your face. Some holders are flimsy or rounded while others are as solid as a straight with grooves and jimping. It's not co much aggressiveness as control.

Cheers guys. Yes, I understand that angle and pressure have the largest impact on aggressiveness.

Vez - If it's not too much trouble, can you post a couple of pics of both shavettes comparing the exposure?

I can't view pics from work, so I'm not sure what's there... but I do have pics of both razors in this thread (just not sure if they are loaded or not).
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...tte-And-Barber-Razor-Enthusiast-(SABRE)-group

If you call the Feather Artist Club SS and DX a Shavette, they are quite different from a DOVO or Parker. They (and Kai) use a special single edge blade that is much stiffer than a DE blade and wider. I'm told they shave more like a Straight, but they are still different. At this point I prefer my SS to my straights, but that may change with more practice.

Guru17 said:

Vez - If it's not too much trouble, can you post a couple of pics of both shavettes comparing the exposure?

Click to expand...

Not as much as I remember, but there is a difference. But the biggest difference between these two is the thickness of the holder. The Parker is thin compared to the Dovo.

Thanks mate. Yeah, the difference is obvious.

I am normally a straight user, but curiosity got the best of me recently and I picked up a cheap shavette. It came with a blade installed and a 5 pk of very thin, Gillette blades. The first shave was awful. When I went to attempt to install a different blade, I realized that the blade was not properly installed and was not held securely enough. I fixed the blade and made another attempt the next night. It shaved much better, almost as well as some of my straights. Biggest problem I had, was that in this particular holder, while shaving, it was difficult to tell where the ends of the blade were. I have a beard so this was bothersome. As with straights, and mentioned by several others here, I found that aggressiveness was mostly controlled by pressure against the face, and angle. I also found that with this particular shavette, it is possible to strop the blade. A few passes on leather made for an even better shave. Think knowing where the blade is, would be much easier if the holders were made much nearer the length of the blade that they use. I noticed a similar oversize in the holders shown above.