So I tried this shavette thing, and survived :D

The very first time I used a shavette (Bluebeard's) I cut myself. So naturally I thought 'let's do that again'.
So today was the day I performed my first 'real' shave with a shavette. Just thought I'd post my experience here and ask for some tips on how to get better.

I used Stirling MITA and a Personna Med Prep blade. It was a really weird experience. Compared to a DE, the grip and motion is totally different. I had the feeling I was pushing the blade across the skin, rather than pulling it if that makes sense.
Before starting I did the obligatory video watching and I pretty much focused on keeping my wrist absolutely locked, because that was what drew blood the first time. And no pressure of course, but I didn't quite manage that all the way through. I also tried to shave the left side of my face with my left hand, but that was horrible. I really had to calm myself down before even touching the skin with my blade. Apparently I'm pretty right-handed in the shaving department.

Anyway, this time I managed to escape with just a small nick on my upper lip . But to be completely honest, after the first 1.5 pass I went straight back to the DE to finish up and perform a final ATG pass to make sure everything was smooth.
Now my skin feels a bit rough, but the cooling effect of the MITA, Witch Hazel/Aloe and the Nivea ASB I used (I spiked it with some menthol) seems to be doing a good job of calming it down.

On a whole, I liked the experience and I actually achieved DFS+ with the shavette on my cheeks before resorting to the trusty DE. It's definitely something I'd like to try and get better at.
If this goes well I'll look into buying a Parker, I heard those are of better quality than Bluebeard's. Do you shaving veterans have some other advice to help me improve?

Congrats on the courage to keep at it! It can be intimidating, but as you continue, it will get much easier!

I am very right hand dominant, but since straights were a new skill I made myself use my left hand on the left side and now it is a non issue.

The irritation is most likely from improper blade angle. I still struggle with this myself. I would suggest to slow down and focus on your technique. It sounds as if you are staying within your comfort zone, so continue to do that until you are comfortable with all areas of your face and doing XTG, ATG passes!

Good luck and keep us up to date!!

Just a couple of things:
1. I only use my right hand. There is no shame in one handedness. If you can use both hands great but not required.

2. Are you stretching the skin? Make sure your opposite hand is pulling the skin tight.

3. Make sure your lather is slick. Straights/shavette need wetter slicker lather.

4. No pressure

5. Keep the shavette as flat as you can and still cut. Raise it only 1- 1 1/2 the spine width.

Good luck and practice makes perfect.

Thanks for the encouragement gents! I'll definitely try to improve blade angle and lather slickness. I already am stretching the skin, but I yet have to find the best way to do that without obstructing my view

There is a big learning curve for sure. They say that it takes 100 shaves to conquer a straight and the shavette is about the same. Just. Hang in there.

I don't know if you found the thread for shavette lovers yet?
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...tte-And-Barber-Razor-Enthusiast-(SABRE)-group
There is some great information in that thread.

Congrats and good luck on your shavette journey.

Thanks, I'll definitely keep on learning and posting noteworthy experiences here. I'll also look into the SABRE thread, maybe there are some good options for a shavette in there as well.

Congrats on surviving the shavette. I shave almost exclusively with a shavette and I really enjoy the challenge. I have the Parker SR-1 and I think it's a good razor. I found I got my best results with a Universal full blade shavette. I also have a Weck Sextoblade and like the feel of that as well.

Imatabor covered all the essentials magnificently so I'll leave it there. Stick with it and enjoy.

Still learning the shavette. But for me I started wtg on my cheeks, then added other areas wtg. Then started adding other directions. It makes it much easier learning one small bit at a time.

Not worth 100 nics, cuts, or weepers.

Wish I had the same luck. I have the same shavette(dreadnought) and gave up after a couple tries. Too many cuts. But i know one of these days I will give it ago once I get bored of my de razors.

Shave #2. I didn't need the alum today. I tried keeping a much more shallow angle as well as a slicker lather. This definitely helped: even though the lather was not as great as I wanted I got a lot less irritation than two days ago. I did one careful pass downward and finished up with the DE.

Glad your enjoying that journey, I have mild rosacea and get bumps sometimes so I am not about to try that!

Your doing great. Take it slow and built your muscle memory.

Keep the posts coming.

I've only tried a shavette once, but it was a major struggle. Glad to hear that you having more success than I did!

Shave #3. Again, no alum needed apart from providing a bit more grip while stretching the skin. The motions begin to feel a little bit more familiar, my left hand isn't shaking anymore at least. I also included an XTG pass on my cheeks, jawline and upper lip before switching to the DE. It went okay, but a few rough spots were left for the DE to clean up.

Still having a bit of trouble with shaving the neck, especially the lower part. My hair grows roughly S-N there, so I like to start by doing a WTG pass on that area. However, the upward motion with the shavette doesn't always work well. I don't cut myself, but I seem to encounter more resistance than on my face and jaw.

Finally: there still is some irritation, but noticeably less than the first shave. I used Proraso Green soap, finished up with a Witch Hazel/Aloe blend, and then Proraso Green ASB.

New Year's Day 2012. Tried my first shave with a shavette. Carved myself up good. Sink full of blood. Lol. I can't bring myself to try it again. DE works just fine for me.

On the bottom of my neck I have the same S to N growth. With my shavette I get a better shave if I just ignore the growth direction and just shave it as I do the rest of the neck.

Using any open blade razor, shavette or regular straight, is for sure a learning curve. I only use disposable blade straights and have been using them for over 5 years. I feel that now I'm pretty good at using one, but I also realize that I'm still learning and working on my technique. Just hang in there and don't rush things.

imatabor said:

On the bottom of my neck I have the same S to N growth. With my shavette I get a better shave if I just ignore the growth direction and just shave it as I do the rest of the neck.

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I tried that yesterday and it actually worked quite well. With a DE, it's painful to do it even if I've done WTG/XTG already, but somehow the shavette just mows through everything.

Shave #4. It went well, actually. Just a single N - S pass, the rest was done using the DE. After that pass, my upper lip was almost as smooth as after three DE passes: a solid DFS(+). I sort of timed it this time, and a pass with a shavette takes me as much time as one with a DE. For me, that's good news. On to the next shave