From the SHAVENT website:
An innovative, elegant and sustainable razor with the full comfort of a pivoting-head and the liberty of standard razor blades. Durable, high-quality and completely free of plastic.
THEINTRODUCTION
Looking like something that's just arrived from Mars*, this pivoting-head razor from SHAVENT is an interesting addition to my razor collection in that the two other pivoting-head razors I have both use one single-edge blade. This one uses - or at least has the capacity to use - three half blades or, depending on what you have in your supplies, one and a half standard double-edge razor blades. Is that confusing? It's really not meant to be. Hopefully, reading the following will make everything clear.
THELOOKS
Cor! I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, so to speak, but this razor looks the business. It looks like some sort of futuristic, alien probing tool. I don't want to get in to what or where it might probe as this isn't one of those sorts of websites. But the SHAVENT razor is stunning to look at. Even if you never shave with it, it'll look good on display in your bathroom. Or, failing that, on your mantelpiece, where it will resemble a sort of alien trophy or award. Like a Venusian BAFTA. In fact, the razor has a stand for it to sit on, allowing you to display it as you see fit.
You can see the stand here. There it is. Look. Right there. No, not there. There.
THEWORKINGS
The SHAVENT is essentially a cartridge razor without the cartridges, because the blades, as stated above albeit in a slightly confusing fashion, are standard half blades or you can use one and a half double edge blades. The SHAVENT, in theory, pivots around the contours of your face - or, in this case, my face - thus delivering a more comfortable shave and, also in theory, avoiding cuts, nicks, slashes, gouges and deep, deep wounds. But does the theory translate to reality? Does it? Does it? Shall we find out? Come on then.
THESHAVE
Here's where it gets detailed. Anyone reading this who finds this sort of thing upsetting, look away now.
I'm basing the following on several different shaves. The razor came pre-loaded with three half Derby blades. Now, I've never got on particularly well with Derby blades. I'm not criticising the blades as I know that they're fine for some people, they're just not for me. If the blades hadn't been preloaded, I'd have put Gillette 7 o'clocks in there. But they were and I didn't.
I went into the shave slightly cautiously as I wasn't convinced that the size of the razor head would cope well with the area above my top lip. I needn't have worried as it was fine. The pivoting head helped in this respect. Also, the Derby blades were ringing alarm bells in my head. Imagine my surprise and relief, then, when the SHAVENT delivered a fabulous first shave. Smooth cheeks (on my face) and chin after one pass. I did a second pass on the neck as that's always a tricky area but I could have got away with just the one. Clearly, the three blades were doing their job.
Now - when I use a double-or-single-edge razor, I make a habit of taking the blade out after each shave, washing the gunk off it and then drying it, along with the razor. It's a simple task and takes, at the most a minute. The workings of the SHAVENT don't particularly invite this sort of post-shave routine, though. I'm not saying the workings of the razor are difficult or particularly fiddly. However, you do have to unscrew the top plate and remove the blades and their spacers. I'm probably being a bit fussy here but as I live in a busy house time is of the essence and I don't always have the luxury of extra minutes spent unscrewing and then putting back together the SHAVENT. After the first shave, then, I ran the razor under the tap, dried it off as best I could with the blades still in there and hoped for the best.
Shave number two wasn't as successful as the first one. The razor pulled at my stubble and it was an uncomfortable shave. I suspected this was down to the amount of dried shaving cream in between the blades. This lead me to change them out for new ones. This time I used just two single-edge blades (or one double-edge blade snapped in half). I stuck with the Derby blades as I'd been sent a box of 100 with the razor and I've now got loads to get through. So I tried again with just the two blades. Again, I got a great shave, although not quite as close as the first time round. However, I managed to shave in under five minutes, which was a plus. Again, I didn't feel inclined to clean the razor afterwards as it was late at night. Shave number three - again, pulling at the stubble and an uncomfortable shave that had me wincing and reaching for a double-edge razor in order to complete it.
Back to it for a fourth time, with just one half blade in it. Abandoning the Derby blades, I went for a Gillette 7 o'clock. Comfortable shave, two and a bit passes and a perfectly smooth face that you could have eaten your dinner off if you were so inclined. I went back for a fifth and sixth shave and found, this time round, that the blade stayed sharp enough.
THECONCLUSION
This is tricky. For me, so far, the razor has worked best with just the one blade in, in terms of sustainability. The times I used just two or three blades were fine for just one shave. But that could have been down to the make of the blade. Don't get me wrong, here. I like using the SHAVENT. It's pleasurably weighty in the hand and is easy to use once you get used to it. The mechanism for changing the blade(s) isn't complicated but does require some unscrewing, which might not appeal to some people.
Will I continue to use it? Yes, I will. I'll continue to experiment with blade make and number combinations. Or, maybe, if I'm going to use three blades in there I need to take the trouble to take them out after each shave and wash them. I have many other razors in my collection that I like using on a regular basis, so it's not as if I'll be having to clean the razor and dismantle it every single day.
Go to the SHAVENT website for more details.
* It didn't arrive from Mars, though. Of course it didn't. It arrived all the way from Germany, courtesy of the very nice people at SHAVENT.
Click here to buy the DAVESHAVES book.