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
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Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
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Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
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Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
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Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
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Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
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Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
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Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
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Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
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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
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Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
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Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
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Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
Rule 5 - Inappropriate Content
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All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
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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.
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None quite that happy :) This W&B Fine India Steel is my most smiling edge, I think.
Then you need to find a very happy straight razor :) These look weird, but they are game changers when shaving.
Oh really?
I've never even considered getting one. In my mind, they were in the category of dragon-breath, fancy-spine fantasy knives.
Do you have some specific examples of smiling razors you like?
I agree about the fantasy/art pieces. Not for me. This kept me away for a long time.
As I was looking into Japanese razors, I came across the Kikuboshi R. Saito in that photo. Comments about how it shaves piqued my interest even though I wasnβt drawn to it aesthetically. These were βproductionβ razors back in the day and because people are afraid to hone them, you can find some in very good shape.
The other very smiley razor I have is my Woolfblades, a custom. Though my razor is not one, he definitely makes dragon/fantasy razors.
The reason you want to try one of these is that they cut like a slant razor and the curvature naturally works with the curvy nature of the face and neck.
You "these are not the droids you're looking for"-ed me :)
This SK1 is going to make it's way to me now, looking forward to trying it!
I know. Very weird looking. Just shave as you normally would and, of course, let me know what you think! π€
Oh, and if you happen to get the typical eBay "shave-ready" edge, here's a video on how to sharpen it.
Thanks! I'll definitely need to hone mine, it's explicitly sold as not shave ready.
Assuming that the geometry is squared away, and it most likely is, the Swedish steel used for that razor should take a great edge. Let me know how it goes.
I'll definitely let you know! I also have a WB FBU incoming, so it'll be two new smiling blades for me :)
Fun times! I've been looking for the "right" W&B, Rodgers, or Greaves 8/8 FBU for a long while.