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Showing 1 of 56 conversations about:
Edgar
195
Dec 20, 2016
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Jesus, at that price just buy a straight razor already. Who would pay that much for a shavette???
Dec 20, 2016
DonV
67
Dec 20, 2016
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Edgarwow - no kidding. The razor you could buy with this kind of money.....
Dec 20, 2016
sockpuppy
451
Dec 22, 2016
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EdgarI wouldn't, but it's not like the price of a straight razor equals the exact retail price of the razor plus tax and shipping. Strops, hones, compounds, or paying some guy to fix your mistakes. This is still cheaper.
Dec 22, 2016
Edgar
195
Dec 22, 2016
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sockpuppySee here, a perfectly capable straight I would be willing to buy personally. If you look at the bottom you can see an additional strop and some dressing for still less than this. You can find someone to hone it and it might put it just over this price but barely. That will last you a lifetime and your kids lifetime and their kids lifetime.
https://www.amazon.com/Dovo-Quality-Straight-Razor-Hollow/dp/B001ASQ2K8/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1482424668&sr=1-1&keywords=straight%2Brazor&refinements=p_89%3ADovo&th=1
Furthermore if you are willing to look you can find vintage razors for even cheaper. Which is what I did, found a professional restorer on Etsy, and paid less for my straight and strop and he guaranteed a shave ready hone. I think mine came out total for everything to about the price of the Dovo up there by itself.
http://whippeddog.com/products/view/hs160530j-genco
Personally I'd spend just a little more and get this beauty:
http://www.maggardrazors.com/product/new-boker-spanish-point-140210-58-straight-razor-anthracite-scales-professionally-honed/
Dec 22, 2016
Edgar
195
Dec 22, 2016
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sockpuppyOne more thing, you can find the absolute best deal right here if you want to try out a straight:
http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/sight-unseen-razor
You don't get to pick the razor but you will get a perfectly good straight, shave ready, with maybe a few scuffs on the scales or something (it's a vintage that was restored), but a perfect shaver. Add the strop and other items and will probably come out still much cheaper.
Dec 22, 2016
sockpuppy
451
Dec 23, 2016
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EdgarYes, of course you can buy used stuff for cheaper than new - same goes for pretty much everything on massdrop. But on the topic of this drop, the ownership experience of a straight razor is very different from the ownership of a shavette and when I see people comparing them like they're supposed to be somehow competing with one another, I get the sense that they've used or owned neither.
Dec 23, 2016
Edgar
195
Dec 23, 2016
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sockpuppyI just got done telling you I use a straight are you saying I'm lying? And no that wasn't the point of my post, obviously you can buy new stuff like the exact example I gave you which you ignored in the same price range. Seems like you're just arguing just to argue at this point. Yeah I just don't see your argument at all. People buy shavettes as a cheap substitute for a straight razor the majority of the time, and anyone who uses a straight will just tell you to spend a little more and go for the straight as it will function better than a shavette ever will. Then you have a shavette that costs as much as a straight and I just have to shake my head. It's not worth it in my opinion but if someone likes it then more power to them.
Dec 23, 2016
sockpuppy
451
Dec 23, 2016
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EdgarCalm down man, are you looking for validation or something? Fine, wow, you were born in le wrong generation, I tip my fedora to you, a fellow scholar and a gentlesir who understands the finer differences between le sheffield and le solingen. How noble!
Back to the point, They just aren't the same thing. They look similar, sure. To some extent they work in a similar way. But one uses disposable blades, and one does not. One requires essentially zero skill or tools to maintain, and one requires quite a bit of equipment and skill. One you can drop on the floor and just switch the blade, the other you drop and it's out of commission until you've done hours of work to fix the damage, and it may never be the same again. It's not even legal to use a straight razor in a barber shop in a lot of places because of prions or whatever.
It's funny that you should accuse me of "arguing to argue" when you specifically started an argument over a product that you don't understand, because it reminded you of a hobby you have. Good god, you're like those people who have to constantly bring up that they know how to drive a stick shift as if it's something that only super-geniuses know how to do.
Dec 23, 2016
shakin_jake
71
Dec 26, 2016
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EdgarI shave using straight razors...IMO, people that buy shavettes like the one dropped here, they buy it, or should be buying it because they don't want to mess around with taking care of the edge. Also IMO, the cost of the shavette should have little to do with this buying decision. The way I see it, folks that buy this want to shave using a straight razor, w/o the hassle of trying to keep up the edge. Nothing wrong with that, just pop in a new blade and away you go, no need for strops, honing. Others may have better and different ideas
Dec 26, 2016
BrainFlush
6860
Jun 14, 2017
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sockpuppyI drive a stick and I'm a simpleton of a genius.
Breakfast anyone? I got hungry reading this comment chain.
Jun 14, 2017
kingping
107
Jun 21, 2017
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EdgarNo affiliation: whippeddog.com has a great rep in the wetshave community afaik...
Jun 21, 2017
kingping
107
Jun 21, 2017
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shakin_jakeAnd honestly (I own a Feather, um... DX?) there are cheap shavettes out there that many barbers use, and those are not this; whether talking about regular double-egde blades or the blades for this Feather razor, Feather consistently produces the sharpest, highest quality edge among available blade makers. I cannot emphasize enough that the user should exercise additional caution when "acclimating" to this new razor. I always treat my Feather DX with extra respect (and fwiw I also only use Feather blades in my double edge razors.)
None better.
Jun 21, 2017
shakin_jake
71
Jun 21, 2017
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kingpingI've shaved with just about everything out there designed to remove whiskars, including Feather blades and their shavette using Feather blades
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A friend lent me his pseudo Feather straight razor...I liked it enough to buy a Korean knock off (the CJB above).  They're nice shavers, and you have to get the shave angle just right.  The cheapie shavette below it is a lot of fun to shave with too, but lacks the rigidity of the CJB, yet both lack what the 7/8 full hollow Solingen straight below them can deliver.  Doesn't make it a better shaver, just easier to use.  Now, as far as upkeep goes, that Solingen requires it in leaps and bounds, but again, if that's your cup of tea, no biggie.  Some folks actually prepare the food they eat instead of plopping something in the microwave from the freezer
Yeah so I shaved day in and day out for over 6 years using nothing but a traditional straight razor.  Loved keeping the edge up using Belgian coticule stones and an occasional Japanese Natural stone, but some months back I returned to my wet shaving roots and got back into using double edge safety razors, once again.  One of those, a Feather AS-D2, purchased through Massdrop, and surprise surprise, it works best using Feather blades.  I tried using Kai blades in it, which felt dull compared to Feathers.  Some guys swear by using Kai blades.  Me?, I prefer Feather blades 
Last shave (several days ago) I dropped a Treet DE blade in my Sledgehammer DE Razor (Merkur Slant).  Very smooth shave yet I had gone w/o shaving for about 6 days leading up to that shave.  If I shave every day or every other day, I'll use a Feather blade as they are the sharpest, for me.  Others may have better and different ideas
Jun 21, 2017
kingping
107
Jun 21, 2017
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shakin_jakeGiven your user name I understand the return to double edged land. B & B or SRP much?
Jun 21, 2017
shakin_jake
71
Jun 22, 2017
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kingpingMy hands are steady as a surgeon's...going back to DE's is just my way of switching things up.  Got boring for me shaving with straight razors.  Looking back, it took me at least a year with straights, to really feel comfortable, then several more years of daily shaving w/them to get to the point where I could damn near get BBS with one pass.  Throw in a touch up or two, & it was BBS, all the way.  Although the muscle memory is there with the safety razors, I can't get BBS in one pass with a DE, so there's a new goal anyways=:-)
I have respect for anyone that shaves...even if they use canned foam and carts.  Gotta start somewhere=:-)  For me, the attraction with straight razors started out with learning how to shave with them, then quickly on, I became engrossed with learning how to hone, but not w/using synthetic stones to get the edge, I liked Belgian coticules, found they gave (IMNSHO), the best feel while shaving, so I began buying straights from the wild (eBay) in order to clean up the metal so as to have a blade to learn how to hone.  Collected over 70 straights, many paying on average, $12-$15.  That was a lot of time on the bay
I hung out on B/B long enough to grow weary of posting there religiously (averaging 2/posts/day, 2500+ total?).  I think it was late 2013 I walked away from there, for years, then I came back a week or so ago, but the place changed too much for me in my absence, so no risk of hanging out.  SRP?, I may have 30 posts there...never cared for the feel of that forum, though I have respect for the founder as he's helped me obtain Dovo scales to repair straights sent to me.  Plus, he's always been straight with me, in any off list dealings I've had with him  

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One of my favorite veins of coticules, Les Latnueses

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Here's some of the straight razors I found in the wild.  BTW, I got the razor rolls from Whipped Dog   

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the same razor rolls, rolled up=:-)

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I also played around with using film, to put a final edge on a straight razor.  The green hone (1K Chosera) is my favorite bevel setter.  FWIW, the film leaves a nice sharp edge, but not as pleasant to shave with as say, compared with the edge from a natural stone, like a Belgian Coticule 
Jun 22, 2017
JacksonKnives
8
May 26, 2018
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kingpingA decent rep, though Larry has got enough complaints on Reddit that they took him off the recommended list.
Buying a straight means some combo of: *you have to live with the edge you have *you spend a ton of money sending it out * you spend a ton of money on gear/cheap razors and learn to touch them up yourself
If you're not bothered by the first, great! Congrats on learning to be happy!
If you have enough money for the second, good for you. Please don't pretend that your shaving experience cost you less than a shavette.
The last kind of person (hobbyist) is the only reason I would suggest a straight, since you get something out of straight razors that you can't get from a disposable blade. It's an indanity that really needs to be identified and contained, though.
May 26, 2018
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