These are so well made and the tolerances are incredible, so incredible in fact that a snapped DE blade fits superbly, however a pre-cut half blade (e.g. Lord or Derby) are too loose and the head doesn't stay tight. The manufacturers have factored in the tiny curve created by the snap. Brilliant!
actually double-edge razor blades have a variance in specification of thickness, and they had to choose a compromise position for the 3 spanner bits' tension in relation to this slight (~0.05mm between most makers) spec variation. There are some DE blades which if you snap in two will never fit in there...best to slice them with scissors and then, as we try many here in shop, seems all work - though if you choose one with the wax dab from time to time you'll need some mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol or something to get that gunk out of the blade-holding zone before it stops fitting. Snug is good.
Thanks Jarrod. Can you try the Lord half blades (pre-snapped)? I'm finding they don't lock in place - so likely too thin. If others don't have an issue then maybe the tension of my Focus Slim is slightly off.
Don't have these on hand. But most single are 0.01-0.02mm thinner specified. I have not yet found a DE blade cut with a nail scissor that does not work, while if you tighten the spanners to fit the thinner 'halfies' you may have problem with snapped/scissored DEs.
yeah I have 'a few' doubled sided blades to get through, so I'll pass on the adjustment until I run out in thirty to forty years. Thanks again for this review mate. So glad I bought this razor, and your footage helped tip me towards that decision.
it is a brilliant little bit of kit...one barber said they should make an "aluminum on aluminum (colored, of course the 'handle' is already all-aluminum)" version, to which I would agree sounds spiffy
may we ever see it again... customs + Italy + COVID = tremendous difficulty of late, lots of lost $ and time, we're going to try once more and if this has any issues that'll be the end of importing from IT for now
Hi Jarrod, I'm personally using the dovo shavette but the plastic holder doesn't seem to have a good hold of the blade. Also they always seem to break. I've used other shavettes such as parker (with no holder) but still prefer the dovo. How would you compare this aluminum unit with the Dovo? Thanks.
the Dovo has one thing special about it; its narrow head affords the lowest ° of blade to skin angle of incidence Focus much better made, lovely bevel guide, but cannot get that low angle. No other interchange blade using DEs can. Doesn't come w/o drawbacks. Whether this reduction of incidence angle is important crucially to you, only you can say. Plenty of thickheaded DE blade interchange razors on the market, so obviously that shallow angle isn't crucial to many. I have used Focus and Dovo and I do better w/ the Focus because of that beveled edge on the head, cheap plastic intermediaries is not crucial to me. But when a barber used the Dovo Shavette on me, and its low angle, I got an amazing shave. Because so light and deft, it requires a skilled feather light touch. I do better w/ forged razors.
Can anybody comment on the weight of this razor? I am currently using the Dovo shavette and I feel it is just far too light for my tastes. My concern is that, being aluminum, this razor would be light too.
I like this design and am thinking of getting one. The problem with laying it down to your face can be that it sucks to the face and will not glide smoothly. I'll have to do some googling around to find out what they weigh. A too light shavette is also harder to use.
It weighs 24 grams, which is low. The Slim AL is designed for professional Italian barbers, who by and large want low weight, neutral balance, and autoclave-friendly material. I have used this thing personally for 3yrs and have never had any problem with it sticking to my face, there is space between the 'ridge guide' itself and the blade because the blade extends ~0.8mm from the plane between the ridge guide and the terminus of the razor.
@@thesuperiorshave what are mostly the differences of this one and the parker SRX. I am thinking for days about one of these two.. isn't it easier to shave with the parker because of the weight? The focua slim looks nice but what else then that and beïng light..
this is nicely machined piece, and i'm looking into getting one, but how is a 'balance' a selling point? Can you comment on how this shavette feels in use with a comparison to an unbalanced shavette?
The Slim AL's designed first and foremost for professional barbers (who are more particular about this neutral balance issue than most). Some barber razors have weight pulling away from the edge and some towards the edge - a truly professional barber will want the tool to have as neutral a distribution as possible so that only they are influencing pressure (and conversely if they needed the razor to pull away from the blade they would feel they have not mastered their own pressure application).
Thanks for the reply. Respectfully, I feel the balance aspect is just marketing. I've asked 2 tonsorial professionals about balance and neither of them knew what I was talking about. One of the barber had the opinion that if you need neutral balance, you don't control the tool, the tool controls you. In this video the balance is achieved with the scales extended and no blade in the holder (Lol). These are both non realistic positions for actual shaving. Once the scales are past the horizontal position, it is no longer in balance. Once the balance point is moved from away from the pivot, such as where your thumb would naturally rest when shaving, it is no longer in balance. This is just my opinion. I still am looking to buy it because its pretty - that’s about it.
Opinions vary. Adding the tiny weight of a blade would change my "very professional fulcrum" (a unscientifically position finger) location dramatically? Even 1mm? I doubt that very much. This is the bottom line; AT ANY TIME THE RAZOR IS OPENED >95° there is exactly as much weight of aluminum on one side of the pivot pin as on the other side. Whether that is of any benefit to you or your statistically insignificant sample size of "2 tonsorial professionals" is entirely up to you. There are probably professional drivers who do not have use for tread on tires, and would rather have completely flush tires of the highest quality rubber. That this razor "does not lean one way or the other" during use (and I have put in my hands and shaved with conservatively 50 different brands and models of 'Shavette' razors, and this is the best example I've felt of this mindset) will be of some use to some people, even tonsorial professionals (the manufacturer consulted with far more than 2 of them in their design/R&D phase).
Im somewhat disappointed to see that the blade is miss alighted when loaded...I really hope that this is not the case with all of them cause I really hoped to get a couple. I love the desighn but obviously its flawed...Thank you for the review!!!
The Superior Shave 3:33 3:52... By “Miss alignment” I mean that the top (Right) corner of the blade holder is miss aligned with the corner of the blade in comparison with the left corner that is overlapping the corner of the holder. In comparison with other (blade holders) shavettes of this particular style the corners of the holders head, serve a purpose of hiding the corner of the blade or reduces the travel of the blades exposed corner as an extra safety precusion for less experienced user. In daily practice as a barber my self that top right corner (3:52) being aligned that tiny bit far is a deal braker in detail work like hair design for example.In my opinion the razor would of been perfect in desighn aspect if those pins were moved just tht tiny bit more to the right and that would solve this issue. Please don’t take this in a wrong way because this is just a personal opinion (preference). Otherwise I think its a genius design! Thank You.
@@dicetrixmarcinkiewicz8573 First off, I didn't hit the mark perfectly on this attempt in the video, it isn't easy to do the camerawork and this very tight holder simultaneously and it wasn't perfectly shown here but when you get the blade piece dead flush to those posts, not the tiniest scrap of daylight between them, that gap isn't there, not as you can see it in this video anyway - the blade edges have some shielding but it is rearward of the cutting edge. That there is any V shape at these spots is is *not* a misalignment according to its engineers but rather a cognizant choice in design based on a huge collection of surveying of (Italian) barbers (its primary market is Italian barbers) who wanted to be able to see the end point but not have it able to bite. Focus does produce the wholly exposed "R21 Teflon" but that takes a metal insert. On the R48 Dynamic, they're working upon adding register pins (male protrusions) closer to cutting edge than the posts (to align with the blade cutouts and force a dead flush mating to the post every time, along with a carved out portion of the sliding bit so that the new posts' space has somewhere to go...I will suspect that the barbers would go insane if that feature was added to the Slim Al, but with the Dynamic more aimed at the end user it made sense to them. Additionally, upon the R48, the coverage of the edges of the blade is complete (another thing most barbers DON'T seem to want in the US, hence the R21 Teflon 'zero coverage' option). Finally, in a couple of months they'll have R51, a fixed head three piece design. It is by far the best double edge safety razor I have ever used and I've used everything you have heard of on the shaving forums *except* the "Wolfman", but again its edges are 100% covered so it would be a poor choice in my opinion for beard/goatee edge detailing.
I'm always a traditionalist and there's something romantic about the entire process of a 'real' straight vs the barber style, but these will be easier to learn angle control and stretching than a 'real' one.
I think you're safest if you break them in half while in their paper and put the "bent shards" facing down (away from the sliding mechanism), snipping cleanly _might_ have a particular blade be loose but snapping there's no chance.
![ASMR Fast Beard Shaving but Barber is 100 Year Old!! [ASMR] @Broz_Asmr](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/R5lmQHu3GQE/mqdefault.jpg)
These are so well made and the tolerances are incredible, so incredible in fact that a snapped DE blade fits superbly, however a pre-cut half blade (e.g. Lord or Derby) are too loose and the head doesn't stay tight. The manufacturers have factored in the tiny curve created by the snap. Brilliant!
actually double-edge razor blades have a variance in specification of thickness, and they had to choose a compromise position for the 3 spanner bits' tension in relation to this slight (~0.05mm between most makers) spec variation. There are some DE blades which if you snap in two will never fit in there...best to slice them with scissors and then, as we try many here in shop, seems all work - though if you choose one with the wax dab from time to time you'll need some mineral spirits or rubbing alcohol or something to get that gunk out of the blade-holding zone before it stops fitting. Snug is good.
Thanks Jarrod.
Can you try the Lord half blades (pre-snapped)? I'm finding they don't lock in place - so likely too thin. If others don't have an issue then maybe the tension of my Focus Slim is slightly off.
Don't have these on hand. But most single are 0.01-0.02mm thinner specified. I have not yet found a DE blade cut with a nail scissor that does not work, while if you tighten the spanners to fit the thinner 'halfies' you may have problem with snapped/scissored DEs.
yeah I have 'a few' doubled sided blades to get through, so I'll pass on the adjustment until I run out in thirty to forty years.
Thanks again for this review mate. So glad I bought this razor, and your footage helped tip me towards that decision.
it is a brilliant little bit of kit...one barber said they should make an "aluminum on aluminum (colored, of course the 'handle' is already all-aluminum)" version, to which I would agree sounds spiffy
I’ll be in next week to pick up the safety razor version. It was nice to meet you.
Man it’s a beauty
may we ever see it again... customs + Italy + COVID = tremendous difficulty of late, lots of lost $ and time, we're going to try once more and if this has any issues that'll be the end of importing from IT for now
Hi Jarrod, I'm personally using the dovo shavette but the plastic holder doesn't seem to have a good hold of the blade. Also they always seem to break. I've used other shavettes such as parker (with no holder) but still prefer the dovo. How would you compare this aluminum unit with the Dovo? Thanks.
the Dovo has one thing special about it; its narrow head affords the lowest ° of blade to skin angle of incidence
Focus much better made, lovely bevel guide, but cannot get that low angle. No other interchange blade using DEs can. Doesn't come w/o drawbacks. Whether this reduction of incidence angle is important crucially to you, only you can say. Plenty of thickheaded DE blade interchange razors on the market, so obviously that shallow angle isn't crucial to many. I have used Focus and Dovo and I do better w/ the Focus because of that beveled edge on the head, cheap plastic intermediaries is not crucial to me. But when a barber used the Dovo Shavette on me, and its low angle, I got an amazing shave. Because so light and deft, it requires a skilled feather light touch. I do better w/ forged razors.
Can anybody comment on the weight of this razor? I am currently using the Dovo shavette and I feel it is just far too light for my tastes. My concern is that, being aluminum, this razor would be light too.
I like this design and am thinking of getting one. The problem with laying it down to your face can be that it sucks to the face and will not glide smoothly. I'll have to do some googling around to find out what they weigh. A too light shavette is also harder to use.
It weighs 24 grams, which is low. The Slim AL is designed for professional Italian barbers, who by and large want low weight, neutral balance, and autoclave-friendly material. I have used this thing personally for 3yrs and have never had any problem with it sticking to my face, there is space between the 'ridge guide' itself and the blade because the blade extends ~0.8mm from the plane between the ridge guide and the terminus of the razor.
@@thesuperiorshave what are mostly the differences of this one and the parker SRX. I am thinking for days about one of these two.. isn't it easier to shave with the parker because of the weight? The focua slim looks nice but what else then that and beïng light..
this is nicely machined piece, and i'm looking into getting one, but how is a 'balance' a selling point? Can you comment on how this shavette feels in use with a comparison to an unbalanced shavette?
The Slim AL's designed first and foremost for professional barbers (who are more particular about this neutral balance issue than most). Some barber razors have weight pulling away from the edge and some towards the edge - a truly professional barber will want the tool to have as neutral a distribution as possible so that only they are influencing pressure (and conversely if they needed the razor to pull away from the blade they would feel they have not mastered their own pressure application).
Thanks for the reply. Respectfully, I feel the balance aspect is just marketing. I've asked 2 tonsorial professionals about balance and neither of them knew what I was talking about. One of the barber had the opinion that if you need neutral balance, you don't control the tool, the tool controls you. In this video the balance is achieved with the scales extended and no blade in the holder (Lol). These are both non realistic positions for actual shaving. Once the scales are past the horizontal position, it is no longer in balance. Once the balance point is moved from away from the pivot, such as where your thumb would naturally rest when shaving, it is no longer in balance. This is just my opinion. I still am looking to buy it because its pretty - that’s about it.
Opinions vary.
Adding the tiny weight of a blade would change my "very professional fulcrum" (a unscientifically position finger) location dramatically? Even 1mm? I doubt that very much.
This is the bottom line; AT ANY TIME THE RAZOR IS OPENED >95° there is exactly as much weight of aluminum on one side of the pivot pin as on the other side.
Whether that is of any benefit to you or your statistically insignificant sample size of "2 tonsorial professionals" is entirely up to you.
There are probably professional drivers who do not have use for tread on tires, and would rather have completely flush tires of the highest quality rubber.
That this razor "does not lean one way or the other" during use (and I have put in my hands and shaved with conservatively 50 different brands and models of 'Shavette' razors, and this is the best example I've felt of this mindset) will be of some use to some people, even tonsorial professionals (the manufacturer consulted with far more than 2 of them in their design/R&D phase).
Looks good. How's the rigidity of the blade once it's locked in?
absolute...because getting it in is like getting on a wetsuit. That %$#@ ain't going anywhere.
Im somewhat disappointed to see that the blade is miss alighted when loaded...I really hope that this is not the case with all of them cause I really hoped to get a couple. I love the desighn but obviously its flawed...Thank you for the review!!!
Which timestamp are you referring to of the 'miss alighted', exactly?
The Superior Shave 3:33 3:52... By “Miss alignment” I mean that the top (Right) corner of the blade holder is miss aligned with the corner of the blade in comparison with the left corner that is overlapping the corner of the holder. In comparison with other (blade holders) shavettes of this particular style the corners of the holders head, serve a purpose of hiding the corner of the blade or reduces the travel of the blades exposed corner as an extra safety precusion for less experienced user. In daily practice as a barber my self that top right corner (3:52) being aligned that tiny bit far is a deal braker in detail work like hair design for example.In my opinion the razor would of been perfect in desighn aspect if those pins were moved just tht tiny bit more to the right and that would solve this issue. Please don’t take this in a wrong way because this is just a personal opinion (preference). Otherwise I think its a genius design!
Thank You.
@@dicetrixmarcinkiewicz8573 First off, I didn't hit the mark perfectly on this attempt in the video, it isn't easy to do the camerawork and this very tight holder simultaneously and it wasn't perfectly shown here but when you get the blade piece dead flush to those posts, not the tiniest scrap of daylight between them, that gap isn't there, not as you can see it in this video anyway - the blade edges have some shielding but it is rearward of the cutting edge.
That there is any V shape at these spots is is *not* a misalignment according to its engineers but rather a cognizant choice in design based on a huge collection of surveying of (Italian) barbers (its primary market is Italian barbers) who wanted to be able to see the end point but not have it able to bite.
Focus does produce the wholly exposed "R21 Teflon" but that takes a metal insert.
On the R48 Dynamic, they're working upon adding register pins (male protrusions) closer to cutting edge than the posts (to align with the blade cutouts and force a dead flush mating to the post every time, along with a carved out portion of the sliding bit so that the new posts' space has somewhere to go...I will suspect that the barbers would go insane if that feature was added to the Slim Al, but with the Dynamic more aimed at the end user it made sense to them. Additionally, upon the R48, the coverage of the edges of the blade is complete (another thing most barbers DON'T seem to want in the US, hence the R21 Teflon 'zero coverage' option).
Finally, in a couple of months they'll have R51, a fixed head three piece design. It is by far the best double edge safety razor I have ever used and I've used everything you have heard of on the shaving forums *except* the "Wolfman", but again its edges are 100% covered so it would be a poor choice in my opinion for beard/goatee edge detailing.
Would you recommend a new straight razor user get one of these as opposed to a standard straight razor?
I'm always a traditionalist and there's something romantic about the entire process of a 'real' straight vs the barber style, but these will be easier to learn angle control and stretching than a 'real' one.
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I have a pair of tin snips that i sharpen with a file to cut my de Blades
I think you're safest if you break them in half while in their paper and put the "bent shards" facing down (away from the sliding mechanism), snipping cleanly _might_ have a particular blade be loose but snapping there's no chance.
Fantastic
That thing is sexy