Razors are one of essentially the most closely and competitively marketed products in American capitalism. Made with metal and plastic that prices a few cents, however sold for a thousand percent profit, the razor market is the subject of vigorous academic study and debate.
The founder of Gillette famously got here up with a mannequin of mainly giving freely the razor deal with so he may promote the blades. Canadian startup Henson has the alternative mannequin, charging $79 for a razor that can provide you a wonderful shave with dirt-cheap disposable blades that cost about 15 cents each.
I have been utilizing the Henson razor for the previous three months, and it affords the perfect shave I’ve had up thus far in my life. Proper now, Walmart is promoting the machine with sufficient blades to final you two years for simply $80. Razors are all the time a well-liked Christmas gift for fathers, and this deal would match properly underneath your tree.
Henson is a Canadian firm with roots in aerospace, having contributed elements to the Mars rover. The AL13 Security Razor is constituted of aluminum machined at their store in Ontario. It is available in a half-dozen colours, together with the basic copper I’ve examined.
The razor’s head is 2 elements 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 may trigger pores and skin irritation. The blade barely stands proud from the pinnacle, with an edge solely about half the width of a hair uncovered—you may should look very carefully 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 aren’t any plastic elements, simply aluminum with stainless-steel bushings. Henson particularly designed its machine 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, that 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 couple 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 by some means misplaced earlier than ever utilizing, however I’ve had extraordinarily crisp and clear shaves with a $4 can of regular Gillette foam.
The one tip I’ve is that you just get the perfect outcomes in case you 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 likewise gives a pleasant, gritty grip when moist. Should you’re trying to reward a grooming machine—or simply need to deal with your self—the Henson at this worth is a good purchase.
