What's new

Cheap vs expensive safety razors: does it matter?

Tell me my friend, how does one really go off the deep end lol!

My gf already thinks I'm nuts to be spending so much time and $ on shaving stuff... and worse to give so many away to friends and family rofl.
My wife is wonderfully tolerant. Even encourages me. Sometimes looks at me like I'm a bit bent.
 
Just gotta say;
With good technique and a decent blade loaded into it.
Which is the “better” razor?
Can one BBS with no irritation resulting be better than another one achieved on a different day?
Is it better to spend more money on a tool that gives you no better results than one that costs one tenth of the price.
Serious questions indeed.
 
DE razor is the holder of the blade.
Blades in DE are quite the same.
All depends about geometry and balance.

I'm not a fan of premium brands, but some good friends they are, so I've tried a few.
IMHO there are some cheap razors that shave well too.

My champion in the category inexpensive-great-shaver is the Dorco PL602.
Shape, balance, geometry, performance, all It needs to be a good tool is there.
I like the light weight and long handle.
And the price is a little fraction of the high end jewel razors.

This is what I call efficiency !!

SOTD 20190210_Estasi.jpeg
 
I am writing this so I can get my honest opinion out to you all. I've bought dozens of de razors vintage and new, expensive and cheap and I enjoyed them all. My go to razor is the ming shi TTO. Yep after spending a couple of thousand bucks my go to razor is a 10 dollar Chinese razor. For me it is the most comfortable and smoothest. That's my honest opinion.
 
I am writing this so I can get my honest opinion out to you all. I've bought dozens of de razors vintage and new, expensive and cheap and I enjoyed them all. My go to razor is the ming shi TTO. Yep after spending a couple of thousand bucks my go to razor is a 10 dollar Chinese razor. For me it is the most comfortable and smoothest. That's my honest opinion.

Wow, that is a lot to spend. What expensive razors do you own that you do not like.
 
I am writing this so I can get my honest opinion out to you all. I've bought dozens of de razors vintage and new, expensive and cheap and I enjoyed them all. My go to razor is the ming shi TTO. Yep after spending a couple of thousand bucks my go to razor is a 10 dollar Chinese razor. For me it is the most comfortable and smoothest. That's my honest opinion.

Thanks! Chris, how many years wet shaving?

You sell or give away all your other razors?
 
I've not spent thousands on razors (my most expensive was just shy of $300). But I've tried razors which together are worth thousands (thanks to the generosity of shave brothers). At this point, my two favorite razors are the CGL3 that came in just shy of $300 and the Mark Cross I found in an antique store two weeks ago for $20 (tax included). I love the Wolfman WR1 I tried a while back but have no compulsion to own one. In fact, pretty much all the RAD drained out of me when I found the Mark Cross.

Both of those razors are extremely well designed and manufactured. In my opinion, the Mark Cross is just a ridiculous bargain because people don't realize how amazing it is. At the same time, this hobby is way more art than science and there is no objective standard. People pay a lot of money for razors when demand is high and supply is short. If the Mark Cross ever catches on, they'll be selling for thousands. That's no doubt true of other razors too.

I get results almost as good with the Yaqi Beast which I bought new for $7 (shipping included). The fact that the result from the Beast is not quite as good as with the CGL3 and the Mark Cross I view as a matter of luck. Everyone's face, whiskers and shave preferences are different. Doesn't surprise me at all that a guy who spent thousands on fancy razors came to rest on a $10 Chinese clone. That said, I'm very pleased with my CGL3 and consider it very much worth the almost $300 paid.
 
I've had both inexpensive and premium razors that have worked well, however, probably the two closes and smoothest shavers I have are on the premium side. I paid around $90 for my Rockwell 6s a couple of years ago on an auction, and my Timeless 95 OC was around $150. - Easily the two best shavers I own.

That said, there's a small difference in some of the others, which might not get ultimately as close (or as quickly), or not quite as smooth a glide when shaving, that cost a quite a bit less. The Gillette New (LC & SC) come darn close to the quality of the shave, really close, and I paid around $20 each for them, give or take. I have a Razorock Tek II, that was on sale for $3.99 a few years back on Black Friday, which provides a darn nice BBS shave with a Feather or Nacet, albeit with maybe a pass more than the others, but smooth none the less. My Schone hits above it weight class, although I like the both New models more, as they seem to have better face feel without the blade fiddle of the Schone.

Don't know if I have another el-cheap razor I like, although I'd like to try a PAA BOCS at some point.

I also own an Ikon X3 and previously a 102, the 102 is long gone, and the X3 is probably going also. Mid-Range razors, but they just aren't my cup of tea, and I get better shaves from the others.
 

Hannah's Dad

I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
‘Does it matter’? It depends on the meaning of the term ‘matter.’ My best shaver is a Goodwill #160, that, when manufactured, was FREE. So if ‘matter’ means getting a good shave, my opinion is that price does not matter. But if ‘matter’ means overall presentation, quality, beauty, enjoyment and other intangibles, then my opinion is that it does matter — a lot.
 
‘Does it matter’? It depends on the meaning of the term ‘matter.’ My best shaver is a Goodwill #160, that, when manufactured, was FREE. So if ‘matter’ means getting a good shave, my opinion is that price does not matter. But if ‘matter’ means overall presentation, quality, beauty, enjoyment and other intangibles, then my opinion is that it does matter — a lot.
Seems about right to me. This hobby is partly practical and partly an affair of the heart. When one pays the price for an expensive razor, it's not all about shave quality. That's part of it and an expensive razor is likely to be carefully designed and manufactured with extreme care and refinement to close tolerances. But it's largely the joy of owning something special, something beautiful, something rare that causes one to spend so much.

Some guys don't have that need. Some, like me, are satisfied with one or two stellar razors. And some guys go for the rarest and most expensive of objects. Same with anything; not just razors. Jay Leno has a garage that illustrates the point.
 

Esox

I didnt know
Staff member
So if ‘matter’ means getting a good shave, my opinion is that price does not matter. But if ‘matter’ means overall presentation, quality, beauty, enjoyment and other intangibles, then my opinion is that it does matter — a lot.

Well said!
 
M

member 119848

Nobody has mentioned the Fatip Piccolo open comb. 17 bucks for a all brass razor that is a smooth comfortable shave.
I went back-and-forth between high-end and regular razors for the last 3 years.
Now I am settled on the Fatip Grande.
Not only it shaves just as good, but the razor gives me more peace of mind as when I used "too nice razors"
And the Fatip is still a nice, enjoyable razor.
I just wrote a post about it:
Minimalists
 
I am still trying to find the razor that works best for me, most efficient with least irritation. I started with the cheaper razors, Ming shi, Feather popular, vintage Gillettes etc. Now I'm working my way through the mid range priced razors, Mamba 70, 6S. Great shaves from both just not as efficient as I'd like. Most of my razors have been bought used on this forum or auction sites. I have just bought a Brass Karve and a GC .84 from another forum member, great price. The price for 2 razors is my max for 1, about $150 cdn.
I have no interest in the high end razors over that price. Unless I can find a bargain! This forum is certainly feeding my RAD!
:a29:
 
Top Bottom