First of all - this shavette works great. It solidly holds the razor blade in place and feels comfortable in the hand. There are more expensive options, but this is all you need if you're just starting out and or don't have to have anything super fancy. Read on for my thoughts on shavette vs straight razor shaving.
Having a year's worth of experience with straight razor shaving prior to purchasing the shavette made for a smooth transition between the two. I left behind my straight razor for the time being because I don't have much time to spend sharpening and stropping the blade these days. The Shavette solved that problem beautifully - just pop in a fresh blade and go. Shavettes are marketed as a stepping stone to straight razors, but if anything the straight razor was a stepping stone to the shavette from a sharpness/safety standpoint . You use the shavette just the same as a straight except more than likely your shavette is going to be much sharper. With the straight razor I was able to apply more pressure, but you can't do that with the shavette, it's so sharp that you barely have to apply any pressure at all.
Speaking of blades, this shavette takes SINGLE EDGE BLADES even though it says it takes DE (double edge) blades in the description. DE blades will not fill this shavette, so if you buy some you'll have to break them in half - which isn't hard to do. I didn't know this, so I purchased the Astra double edge razor blades from this site and had to figure out that I needed to break them in half when I got them. Not a big deal, but I passed on getting single edge blades because I thought double edge was what I needed. Get single edge blades from the start if you can with this shavette. (The Astra DE blades work great by the way - very sharp and easy to break in half if you need to.)
Shavette vs Straight Razor shaving:
I sharpened and stropped my own straight razor, and while I know the fundamentals of sharpening I am by no means a master bladesmith. Sometimes I'd get it right and my shave would be smooth - others not so much. So consistency was an issue. The razor blades you'll use with the shavette are as sharp as it gets. They're very thin and flimsy when handling, but their edge is insanely fine and sharp. The shavette securely holds the blades in place, so nothing to worry about there. If you're taking your shavette out for its first shave, remember to take your time, be aware, and let the blade do the work.
