The Goodfellas Smile Shibumi Kamisori Shavette Razor-The Original

When I first had an interest in straights, the traditional folding style Shavettes that use DE blades seemed to have a great value prop. The lure was that they offered a passport to straight razor shaving without the heavy investment. Plus, professional Barbers use them, so they have to be good, right? In my experience, they offer no margin for error. Unless one is using perfect form with their skin perfectly taut, they will bite. Because they are so light, it is all too easy to have incorrect angle or lateral movement and they will bite or slice. I would argue it’s probably easier to shave someone else than one’s self with a DE shavette. One exception to this is the Feather folders, which are very ergonomic and approximate the heft of a solid straight razor. This brings us to this Kamisori style shavette. I didn’t purchase from Shave Nation, but feel this is perfect spot to review. I find the size and secure grip this shavette offers makes it easy to confidently use. Second, without a folding handle one has clear and unobstructed view of where and at what angle the blade is initially making contact with the skin. That is a critical aspect of DE shavettes vs traditional solid straights in my opinion. This razor feels very controlled and intuitive. The weight also feels more balanced than a folding shavette whereby one can judge better how much pressure the hand and blade are putting on the skin when making a pass. I believe this may work well for a newer user in my opinion. Of course I may be wrong and just experienced to the point this razor isn’t an issue. For the past 5 mos, this has been a 1-2x a week shaver for me. I’ve found that pre split blades are easier to load here. The insert that holds the blades here has mini prongs the non-business side of the blade slide under. When one splits by hand, the ends at the point of split sometime have a little curve or curl making them harder to load in this blade insert. For me, this razor is also easy to use when lining up one’s beard, or shaving the back of the neck. Overall, a great shaving tool to have.

It’s okay I thought it would be heavy but it is kind of light.
It is easy to load though.

It definitely has a learning curve. First shave went great, with no irritation and only a couple of tiny nicks. Wasn't as smooth as I would like it to be, but I'm chalking it up to learning how to properly shave with it. Used a Parker precut blade, which works great in my Parker Solo, and my other shavettes. That's why I figure that I just wasn't doing it right. I'll figure it out, though. Overall, happy with my purchase.