Henson Shaving created a safety razor for the 21st century
Earlier this week we unboxed the beautiful Canadian made aluminum safety razor by Henson Shaving. What a nice piece! Since I am sporting a short beard I am not shaving on a daily basis. It’s more of an every two day thing and at that it’s the cheeks and lower neck. Basically I want to keep things neat.
There are a number of observations to be made about this razor. The first one being that the very stylish handle is also longer than the norm, making it a comfortable piece to work with. Those etches that give the handle a more refined look also make the razor very secure to hold with wet hands.
Wanting to evaluate the shave as imagined by Henson Shaving I used the ASTRA platinum blades that are provided with the razor. I will say that ASTRA is not necessarily my favorite blades, but objectively speaking they are nice quality option. I am fan of Treet and Voskhod.
If you missed the unboxing, catch it here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CE-sPDfA2Eh/
As far as things go in with the blade exposure, Henson offers an extremely smooth and moderate approach. The blade exposure and blade angle are the two main things to consider when gauging the cutting potential of a razor. Usually, these two parameters essentially go and hand in hand.
Using a very scientific approach, the protractor from my kid’s geometry kit, I am estimating the blade angle to 20 degrees. The blade exposure is something like 1 mm. This makes it a very safe razor for newbies and a smooth razor for the experienced wet shaver. Because of the lesser blade exposure you will proportionally get less cutting power. In that light, this is an ideal razor for daily usage. If you are shaving on a regular basis there is less to cut and this razor will allow you go at it a bit faster without having to be overly concerned about nicking yourself. For the newbie, this will be a wonderful introduction as you will be able to get a great shave as you get accustomed to this way of shaving.
I found it to be an incredibly comfortable razor to work with.
Clearly, a lot of attention went into designing this razor head. The top is entirely flat, so it is self-standing. On the base of the receiver plate you will notice 4 large grooves which allow the shaving soap and cut beard to be painlessly evacuated – read that as you won’t need crazy hot water with strong pressure to clean this thing out.
Typically, a 3 piece design has 2 pillars to secure the blade laterally. Here these pillars are 1 cm rectangular grooves which fit perfectly with the standard blade designs and completely secure the blade and head in place.
Although this is an aluminum construction and is lighter it certainly does not feel cheap. Quite to the contrary, the craftsmanship is top notch. All of the pieces are perfectly done and finished. I have razors that retail for a lot more than the one by Henson with a number of imperfections.
VERDICT
Henson Shaving has produced a classic 3 pieces razor by rebuilding everything from the ground up. The end result is a light, attractive, efficient and safe shaving tool at the affordable price of $40. That price tag includes 100 double edge blades. Henson further offers their razors in a wide range of colours and finishes for both men and women. I can’t help but think that it is just a question of time before there is at least 1 if not 2 Henson razors in every bathroom. I want my second one to be red! 🙂