Thread: Blades sharpness Shavette vs STR8 ?

So I'm curious just how sharp the blades of the disposable type STR8 compared to a professionally honed and properly stroped razor. I recently had a barber use a shavette on me and I felt that it tugged a lot more than any real STR8 I have ever expereienced. Granted there are other factors that may have come into play, pre shave, barbers technique or skill etc..

Without some way to quantitatively measure how fine the edge is, it's really all just conjecture and individual perception. Personally I maintain that the A+ grade straight will be sharper simply because it's a hand crafted, carefully finished, precision tool as opposed to disposable blades which are mass produced as cheaply as possible ... but that's just my opinion.

There are so many variables to that question that it is impossible to answer really.
The skill of the person honing and stropping, quality of the razor and strop, brand of disposable blade, skill of the barber, your skins comfort level, etc, etc
Personally I've found quality disposable blades to be on a par with a shave ready straight, and many people here use DE razors aswell as straights.
The whole essence of my answer I'm afraid boils down to YMMV!
P

Originally Posted by bottomfeeder

So I'm curious just how sharp the blades of the disposable type STR8 compared to a professionally honed and properly stroped razor. I recently had a barber use a shavette on me and I felt that it tugged a lot more than any real STR8 I have ever expereienced. Granted there are other factors that may have come into play, pre shave, barbers technique or skill etc..

I have both and lined them up next to each other in a shave off. My straights stay sharper longer and are better at the coarser thick growth. They are smoother than the disposable though. I also touched up my straights on 0.5 micron Chromium Oxide on balsa, followed by 0.25 micron on felt, followed by stopping on clean felt then leather. Results: My straights after a touch up were as sharp as Feather disposables brand new. So much of it depends on the blade used in the Shavette (and how many times you have used it) versus how sharp your real straight is. However, for a couple of days growth or more, my more thickly ground straights plow through the stubble better than my full hollow which is better than my Shavette.