Razors are one of the closely and competitively marketed merchandise in American capitalism. Made with metal and plastic that prices a few cents, however bought for a thousand % revenue, the razor market is the topic of vigorous educational research and debate.
The founding father of Gillette famously got here up with a mannequin of mainly gifting away the razor deal with so he might promote the blades. Canadian startup Henson has the other mannequin, charging $79 for a razor that may give you a superb shave with dirt-cheap disposable blades that price about 15 cents every.
I have been utilizing the Henson razor for the previous three months, and it provides one of the best shave I’ve had up so far in my life. Proper now, Walmart is promoting the gadget with sufficient blades to final you two years for simply $80. Razors are at all times a preferred Christmas reward for fathers, and this deal would match properly beneath your tree.
{Photograph}: Martin Cizmar
Henson
AL13 Security Razor Shave Set (2 12 months)
Henson is a Canadian firm with roots in aerospace, having contributed elements to the Mars rover. The AL13 Security Razor is made out of aluminum machined at their store in Ontario. It is available in a half-dozen colours, together with the traditional copper I’ve examined.
The razor’s head is 2 components that dovetail collectively and are then compressed utilizing the screw-on deal with. The deal with holds the blade in place with excessive rigidity at a exact angle so the blade does not chatter round, which might trigger pores and skin irritation. The blade barely stands out from the top, with an edge solely about half the width of a hair uncovered—you may must look very intently to see it.
The Henson razor is manufactured with exacting tolerances of 0.00025 of an inch, or about one-twelfth the thickness of a human hair. There are not any plastic components, simply aluminum with stainless-steel bushings. Henson particularly designed its gadget to work with low-cost, generic double-edged blades that promote for ten or 15 cents every—the distinction right here is how firmly and exactly these blades are held in place.
I have been utilizing the Henson for about two months now and have by no means had higher shaves. I shave about each different day, and every blade lasts me a couple of week, which means the 100-pack included right here will final you two years. The shave could be very shut however easy, and I’ve solely barely nicked myself a number of instances in that span. (The corporate has paid for medical imaging that reveals its razors trigger one-third the pores and skin irritation you get from multi-blade razors.) The corporate despatched me its proprietary $20 shaving cream, which I someway misplaced earlier than ever utilizing, however I’ve had extraordinarily crisp and clear shaves with a $4 can of standard Gillette foam.
The one tip I’ve is that you just get one of the best outcomes if you happen to unscrew the deal with a bit when rinsing the blades between makes use of, as shaved hairs in any other case are inclined to get caught within the house between elements and do not simply rinse out.
Did I point out it is a very good-looking razor? It’s, with a machined deal with that has a texture that appears good and in addition gives a pleasant, gritty grip when moist. If you happen to’re trying to reward a grooming gadget—or simply need to deal with your self—the Henson at this value is a good purchase.
