WetShaving
This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
While this server is funded by personal contributions, we'd like to thank Zulip for giving us a Community subscription to their chat software (available at https://chat.wetshav.ing/).
πͺ Check out these alternative front-ends for this server:
https://gem.wetshaving.social/ - a nice modern interface
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social/.
πͺ Track the uptime of our various services here:
https://uptime.selfhost.ing/status/wetshaving
πͺ Community Rules
Rule 1 - Behaviour and Etiquette
-
Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
-
Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
-
Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
-
Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
-
Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
-
Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
-
Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
-
Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
-
Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Rule 4 - Advertising
-
Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
-
Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
-
Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
Rule 5 - Inappropriate Content
-
All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
-
Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Rule 10 - Moderator Discretion
- The rules may not apply perfectly to every situation. The mods have final discretion.
view the rest of the comments
Day 11/31 of ~~Tab~~OKtober~~fest~~
I was at a conference in @PorkButtsNTaters666@sub.wetshaving.social's home turf and we met for a lovely dinner, where he surprised me with his Dovo Barbarossa to try. The Barbarossa is a fascinating and odd little razor. It's a 5/8" blade, seemingly made from the same blade blank as the regular modern Dovo 5/8"s, see my Dowo 41 Inox blade for comparison (which I happened to travel with, coincidentally), but the blade is about one third shorter. The Spanish tip makes it look even more stubby.
I've been curious about this for a while because I don't really understand why traditional straights have a ~75 mm edges. Anyone who, like me, has a patch with horizontal direction in their beard growth pattern in the hollow bits under the jaw line knows that the long blades get in the way where the shorter blade of a DE or a traditional kamisori don't. In short (pun unintended), the design made sense to me.
So, how does it shave? First off, with the short blade and the wooden scales, this thing is so light it's a bit unsettling at first. Then, I wasn't aware how much I'm usually just keeping the tip of a straight in view, and this short blade always tried hiding behind my hand. Both of these issues are just small deviations that play tricks with muscle memory, though, and easily overcome with a bit of focus.
The shave was uneventful, and the shorter blade wasn't the superpower I thought it was, but I probably need to play a little with the new geometry to figure out how to best exploit it before floating the idea of a sub-exclusive short-blade cleaver out of Ulrik's new 9/8 blanks π
It is a bit awkward in the hand. Once your back home, could we see a size comparison with your kamisori of decadence?
Similar, but the kami is bigger
I see - but the edge on the kami seems to start at least a cm further away from the pivot - which is probably better
Yes, and the edge is also further away from the spine, making it easier to get into hollow areas
I was sent a very short stainless, hollow ground razor from Portland Razor Company to hone. You can see the length in the photo below. I also thought that there would be significant advantages to the shorter size, but found that I am so comfortable with all the technique work I've done, the short blade felt like more of a hindrance than a help. I'm certain I could learn to take advantage of the smaller form factor, though.
This is what I'm thinking too. There should be an advantage, but we learned to deal with the longe edge, so we're not seeing it immediately.
I'm currently working with Ulrik on razor that will allow me to test the Damascus steel he uses. As usual, he is just a pleasure to deal with. (This will be my fifth Koraat π)
I've been having some less pleasant dealings with Ulrik recently. I was one of the first customers for his bigger 9/8 blanks. He accepted an order for a custom blade with engravings, then made it without and wanted me to buy it. Only after I asked about the engraving, he said that he couldn't do that any more because his engraver quit. I asked whether he'd be looking for a new one, but haven't gotten an answer. He's been ghosting me for about two months now. Very disappointing
Wow! That may be the first unprofessional thing about him Iβve heard. I guess he figures youβre at stalemate.
Same. Very disappointing after all the great interactions