Henson has new Stainless Steel DE blades on their site, in addition to their Astra Superior Platinum. The new blades have been manufactured to Henson specifications, with Henson name on the blade. I have tried these blades, and IMHO they "perform better" than Astra blades in both my Henson AL13 (mild & medium) and TI22 (aggressive) razors. "Perform Better"= Better (smoothness + sharpness) than Astra. Remember YMMV.
New Blades From Henson
- Thread starter Captainjonny
- Start date
Interesting, made in what country?
Are you talking about the RK Blades (I only found the RK's and Astra's)? RK Blades are manufactured in India.
(I've has mixed results with Indian Blades, mostly positive, but some duds)
Ooo, I love Indian blades and I have 2 Hensons... 
RK Stainless specifically designed for Henson AL13. Interesting
I had a look online about an hour ago, they don't seem to be readily available in smaller quantities to try. There is one review on B&B that doesn't sound encouraging, but no follow up. Apparently they are one of the companies that offer custom printing, it is advertised somewhere according to a poster in that same thread. Not worth finding again and linking, they were a passing mention. Will stick with my trusty Super-Max.
That’s very generous of you, sir. You’re quite right, many will be able to try these blades thanks to your donation. Thank you! I’ll let you know when they arrive.
rk blades are solid. I’m stoked to try the Henson spec model.
I wonder how much difference there is between the black box for Henson and the other RK blades?
When they say "specifically designed for the Henson AL13", there's really only a few variables I can think of: blade thickness, blade width, and edge geometry. Those are in order from least to most likely to be "specifically designed", imho.
I doubt that Henson sells enough blades that a blade manufacturer would specifically produce a blade to Henson's design specifications. You would have to sell millions of blades to make that worthwhile. However, printing a custom logo on a run of blades of a few thousand blades might be feasible. Many companies like Muhle have done that.
There are so many different blades in the market that there is no real need to produce an entirely new design. Henson may well have found a current blade that works well in their razor and convinced the supplier to use custom printing.
As for Astra SP blades, I have found them to be on the lower end of the quality scale for both sharpness and smoothness. I know they work well for a large number of shavers, but they do not have a beard as tough as mine nor a face as sensitive as mine. At least I can use Astra SP blades, but prefer not to do so. There are some blades that are so "dull" that they won't even cut my stubble. Astra SP are not quite that dull.
Due to the huge number of people in India, a lot of blades are made for the local market as well as export. Like blades made elsewhere, they cover a wide range of quality levels. The Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (black) blades made in India are among the finest blades made anywhere in the world. I doubt that Gillette would produce private brand blades. There are several other blade manufacturers in the country as well.
There are so many different blades in the market that there is no real need to produce an entirely new design. Henson may well have found a current blade that works well in their razor and convinced the supplier to use custom printing.
As for Astra SP blades, I have found them to be on the lower end of the quality scale for both sharpness and smoothness. I know they work well for a large number of shavers, but they do not have a beard as tough as mine nor a face as sensitive as mine. At least I can use Astra SP blades, but prefer not to do so. There are some blades that are so "dull" that they won't even cut my stubble. Astra SP are not quite that dull.
Due to the huge number of people in India, a lot of blades are made for the local market as well as export. Like blades made elsewhere, they cover a wide range of quality levels. The Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (black) blades made in India are among the finest blades made anywhere in the world. I doubt that Gillette would produce private brand blades. There are several other blade manufacturers in the country as well.
Daniel Jantzi discussed this on the Lather Talk podcast from last week. Henson's markets its razor as the perfect design for blade presentation. Astras were originally chosen not because they are the sharpest blade, but because they had the highest consistency in construction, particularly the post hole cutouts. As Daniel explains the collaboration with RK, the company is looking to expand in the North American market, and shares the same emphasis on precision and consistency as Henson. RK was able to produce a blade to Henson's specs for consistency, hardness, and sharpness.
I tried it yesterday. It's not the same as the RK stainless. It's strangely mild. It was very comfortable, but I didn't get a good shave. I almost feel like they developed the perfect blade for a noob trying the Henson as their first DE experience.
If that is the case, they did a great job.
For me, it's not sharp enough.
The RK stainless shaves fine. It's a good blade. I'm not surprised Henson went with RK. Their quality is excellent.
If that is the case, they did a great job.
For me, it's not sharp enough.
The RK stainless shaves fine. It's a good blade. I'm not surprised Henson went with RK. Their quality is excellent.
Please forgive my slow response. The blades have arrived & have been added to the Great Blade Exchange inventory. Thank you, @Yuritau, for your generosity!
I got the shipping notification anyways, hehe. All good!
What are your usual/go-to blades? The Henson RK blades have me curious but no one is selling tucks just yet.
Gillette blue platinum
Aaaah, that's a good blade.
Daniel Jantzi on the Lather talk interview also mentioned that the blades will be available on Amazon. He understands his shipping costs for the blades is cost prohibitive.
