Thread: Disposable blades

Hi. I'm sure this question has been asked many times but I couldn't find it in my search of the forum.
What are the disadvantages of the modern style straight razor that holds half a disposable razor blade in a clip? How often do I change the blade? What kind if maintenance/care is required? Can I just take the advice given for traditional razors?
I just bought my first straight razor (the type described) & am very new to it all & know nobody else who uses one.
Any info or directions to where this may have previously been addressed would be great.
I look forward to mastering this & having something to contribute to the forum

I've shaved with bpth styles of razor, the biggest disadvantage for me was the replacing of the blade, found it inconveinaint. no stropping, and i always seem to get a less than comfortable shave with them (may have been me and not the razor). i bought mine for travel, didnt want lose my starights in luggage. for maintenance wise i just dried with towel and thats it. and as for changing the blade i change moine every shave, i found a place in my hometown that they cost (if i remeber correctly) $5 for 10 so at that price point why not . hope this helps

I've used a shavette before. Replacing the blades was fine. The shave was good too. But when I tried a traditional straight, the disposable went bye-bye. I get a smoother shave out of a traditional, and I hardly ever nick or cut myself either. With a disposable, it was very easy to nick and cut myself badly. Once you try a truly shave ready straight razor, your disposable will go bye-bye too. If you want to stick with a disposable, that is fine. I got about 7 or 8 shaves out of my disposable when I had it. The maintenance is virtually nothing, which is why it is appealing for people who don't want to strop or hone.

I started out a safety razor guy (SE mostly) then a couple years ago, I decided I would do "basic training" with a shavette. This way I could learn straight razors without a big outlay of money before I knew for sure if I'd like it. Lots of debate over whether this is a good idea or not but what I can say is that the learning curve when I first started with shavettes was horrendous but I stuck at it and within a month or two I was getting very good shaves out of them. After a couple additional months of almost daily shavette shaves, I decided I was ready for "real" straights. I bought a Boker Red Injun for $20, a cheap water stone and a strop and away I went. Despite what lots of people will say, the techniques I learned shaving with a shavette were very useful when I did pick up a conventional straight. From a strictly technique standpoint, the shavette all but eliminated any technique learning curve associated with the straight. The only learning curve was honing and stropping. Although it is true that from a feel perspective, there does seem to be a world of difference. I found the heft of a real straight razor was far more comfortable. In fact, once I started using straights my shavette shaves were few and VERY far between. Now that you mention it, I may just pull out a shavette for a shave one day this weekend.

I only started using straights with disposable blades (Feather DX and SS) after I learned how to shave with a real straight. Different? Not really in my opinion, I use the same angle, pressure and technique as with a straight. Disadvantage: It doesn't have the same charm as a straight. Advantage: Due to the smaller blade it's a bit easier to get around on the face or head. It's just a variation I like to use for shaving.

I did not know they were called shavettes. I found a good discussion here about them. Thank you for all these perspectives. Definitely food for thought. I've had 3 shaves with it so far & I don't get too badly injured but I have to tidy up after with my multiblade Schick. I also shave my head but am not daring enough to try it with the straight.
My shavette is a cheap eBay buy with Arabic writing on it so I have no idea of brand. My blades are Gillette Wilkinson sword. My brush is deVinci & is garbage - bristles falling out like mad. I'm using Shave brand cream in a tube.