Bluebeards Revenge Cut-Throat Shavette Review – A Close Shave with a Pirate
Bluebeards Revenge Cut-Throat Shavette
The Bluebeard’s Revenge Cut-Throat is a fan-style shavette made to look and be used like a straight razor. Overall, it is a decent shavette, but it does have its notable drawbacks.
Pros
Works just like a Straight Razor
Accepts Blades Easily
Easy to Clean
Tight and Sleek Profile
Very Inexpensive
Cons
Feels Flimsy
Limited Shipping
I have shared a few articles on shavettes before, and I am quickly becoming a fan of these less expensive alternatives to straight razors. So when Jason, my editor, asked me to take a look at the Bluebeard’s Revenge Cut-Throat shavette, I jumped on it.
It took some time to get here, and international shipping from England is not the fastest option. Unfortunately, it is the only option right now.
I can say, though, that the wait for its arrival in the post was pretty worth it.
Features
- Stainless Steel Blade Housing – Easy to clean and easy to open.
- Fan-style Blade Housing – The Housing opens into three parts to easily secure the blade into place. The blade doesn’t move or rattle at all.
- Replaceable Blade – Like other Shavettes, Replaceable Disposable Razor blades help you keep the razor sharp without having to constantly sharpen.
- Slim Profile – The Whole product folds very neatly and cleanly into a very small profile. The blade is completely concealed inside the handle.
- Plastic Handle – While it feels a little flimsy, the handle is hard plastic and not likely to warp.
- Bluebeard’s Revenge Logo – Cool Pirate Logo just looks good on the handle and blade.
- Dimensions: Closed: 6 inches by 1 inch, Fully Open: 9 inches by 1 inch.
- Additional: Made in the UK, Cruelty-Free with Recyclable materials.
How does it look?
From a visual perspective, the Cut-Throat Shavette looks like a micro or slimmed-down straight razor. It has the profile of a straight razor and feels like one too. Everything about this razor feels like a traditional cut-throat style razor, down to the tang at the back. It’s just a bit smaller than you would think overall.
The place where you really start to see the difference is in weight and feeling. This razor is very light. You almost cannot feel it in your hand if you were just judging it on the heft alone. The plastic handle makes it almost feel breakable at times, like it is a toy. Though in the week I have had it, nothing like that has happened.
The blade itself fans out, and it’s actually kind of difficult to open at first. That is a good thing because you want to make sure your blade is nice and secure. It is just as difficult to get it closed again after loading it with a blade. Again, that is a good thing because it means your blade is secure, but there is a small chance you might forget there is a blade there and accidentally place a finger where you shouldn’t.
I didn’t do this myself, but I almost did and caught myself before I applied any pressure. I’m not interested in needing stitches anytime soon.
Where it does have one interesting downside or issue is that the pivot point is not very tight. The blade swings in and out quite easily. Just turning the thing over would cause it to open to at least a 45-degree angle. This could be a problem if you were planning to travel with it, as that exposed blade could catch in something and cause cuts or tears.
If you do plan on traveling with this, don’t keep it loaded with a blade. If you HAVE to, get something like a leather pouch to put it in.
How does it perform?
For the purposes of my review, I shaved with this razor 4 times, leaving a day between each shave to let my skin recover and grow some good stubble. I used a Muhle Brand Disposable razor, broken in half in the blade. Each shave was three passes, once with the grain, once across the grain, and once against the grain. Each pass was preceded by use of a pre-shave oil or Proraso pre-shave cream.
Overall, the razor performs VERY well. It gave me a nice and clean shave without a majority of issues. I will say that I had some problems with the neckline, though.
My beard and skin are very unique in that I have a bunch of acne scars from my teen years. This leaves me with quite a few uneven and bumpy parts of my cheeks and my neck. The grain of my beard also does a 90-degree turn when it gets past my jaw, making shaving against or across the grain rather difficult when not using a safety razor.
The Shavette performed rather well with these curveballs thrown at it, but the sharpness of the blade is very unforgiving when it comes to bumps on the skin. The key here is to move very, very slowly, or else you are going to get all kinds of bite on the skin.
It doesn’t like facial contours, though. Any place the skin isn’t flat is an invitation for the corners of the razor to bite into the skin and draw a bit of blood. This leaves my three chins and me in a bit of a pickle, and I found it easier to go back with a safety razor of my Goodfellas’ Smile Shibumi Kamisori to clean up some small trouble spots.
It gave me a really smooth overall shave, but there was no way I could get away at any point without at least one knick.
Which leads me into…
How Easy is it to Use?
This razor is NOT an easy-use, pick-up-and-go kind of tool. If you are new to straight razors in general, you are going to have a hard time getting used to this one. Even if you have the skills for straight razors, you might still have issues because the cutting area is always smaller than you think it is.
I’m not completely new to straight razors, and I even had to go back and refresh my memory again and again of the skill set for this one. Tutorials and videos are your friends with this one.
Take it easy and take it slow, and you will get a nice, good, and clean shave. Don’t expect to just get going with this like you would a safety razor, though. When disposable blades bite, they REALLY bite. The edges of the disposable razor do stick out from the side, and if you aren’t careful, they can get into the skin and cause scratches.
After my first time using this blade, I looked like I had gotten into a fight with my cat and lost. Left my face with a great deal of small scratches and cuts.
Also, don’t get discouraged if you try this one once or twice and come away with a few cuts and knicks. It happens. This is a skill set you are going to slowly get better at with practice. My first shave with this razor almost bled my face dry, but after the fourth go I was moving slow but doing much better.
If you want something more “user-friendly,” I would go for something like the Razorine rather than this one. While the Razorine can still cut you if you aren’t careful, the double-edged blade guards can be more forgiving when learning how to use it best.
Though if you are prepared to learn a new skill, or just really want to start practicing for a really straight razor, I would say go for this one. The price point is way too good to pass up.
Final Thoughts – Who is the Bluebeard’s Revenge Cut-Throat Shavette for?
Overall, I really want to recommend this razor and this company to everyone. The vibe from Bluebeard’s Revenge and the quality of the product is really great. The price is awesome too for what you are getting.
It has some drawbacks though that really keep me from giving this a perfect score. Like with the Razorine, this shavette is going to take some serious getting used to and time investment if you are not already pretty skilled with a straight razor.
If you are looking to upgrade your shaving game, and don’t want to spend a bunch of money AND you have some time to “Git Gud” at shaving, then I would recommend this one. If not, I would go with something else a little more forgiving.
Just make sure you also invest in some really good pre-shave, post-shave, and shaving soap for this one, because you are going to need it when it comes to fighting the razor burn.
