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Goodfella Black Satin and Chrome Razor Open Comb

Pros: Excellent materials, excellent graduation of head
Cons: No negative aspects
I finally got to try this beautiful razor.
The stainless steel handle and satin black finish of the head are excellent quality levels. Good balance but especially the mechanical perfection of the head, which allows adjustments in a very precise way.
Aggression is very low, but with three coats (two pass against the grain) you get a perfect result without any nicks or discomfort for the skin.
Grip
3.00 star(s)
Price
3.00 star(s)
Balance
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Adjustability
0.00 star(s)
User Friendly
5.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
2.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
4.00 star(s)
Hi All,

Living in NZ and having easy access to these razors means I'll write a review.
First off I didn't buy mine, I was given it by a friend, which I might add I have given it to someone else now.

It is truly awful! :thumbdown and outrageously over priced, for this money why would you even consider it???..I don't get it, you'd play safe with any other make of razor, and I mean any other and save some money in the process, and I don't get some people who say, it's made in our own backyard, does that give them license to rip us off then?

The balance is all wrong, it's the most mild razor ever, so much so I had to do at least 5 passes plus touch ups (which meant irritation) to get anywhere near as good as my Merkur 38.

And the price.....robbery, absolute robbery just because it's made here in NZ do they think it justifies the price tag, the pay rates here aren't even high to justify this, I personally think it's a rip off.

Avoid it, you'll be glad you did.
Grip
1.00 star(s)
Price
0.00 star(s)
Balance
0.00 star(s)
Quality
1.00 star(s)
Adjustability
0.00 star(s)
User Friendly
1.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
0.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
1.00 star(s)
OK... The time has come....

First,,, a little background.... I won this razor a little over a year ago during the 'Carnival of Smiles",, for writing a review on another shaving product (Parker 86R I believe).... I put a lot of time into that 'award-winning" :001_rolle review ,, so I felt like I should go above and beyond for the Goodfella that I received as a prize.....

So...... I've been loyal to the Goodfella.... It has been used for every shave that I've had since it arrived (minus one... WWII event.. Opted to use a vintage Gillette to be 'legit').... Readers,, please take note: I don't shave every day... Three times a week maximum with as few as one shave a week during the 'lazy times'....

I have used many different items and techniques,, but one thing remained consistent through it all: The Goodfella razor.... I felt that I owed it to the B&B and the fine people at Goodfella that sent it to me for free to give it a 'fair shake' and all that....

Oh,, and I'd like to take a second here to be blunt... I'm not the type of person that's 'up for sale'... If someone wants someone to fluff them up because they gave me something for free,, they need to keep looking... I'm not their guy....

That said,,, here's the review.....................

>>>Price: In my opinion,, it's pretty damn expensive..... Honestly,, the only way that I would have ended up owning one of these things would be the circumstances that I actually did get mine: luck of the draw.... Don't get me wrong here... I know that it takes a lot to manufacture something like this these days,, especially in a non-sweatshop country like China or India.... I respect the people at Goodfella's for doing what they can to try to fill a void in the market with a 'modern anachronism'..... I guess it isn't cheap to keep 'old school' alive but with a modern twist.... Thus,,, I gave them a "3"... More expensive than average,, but that's the price you have to pay for an independant company that has a decent product....

>>>Quality: I was very happy with the overall quality of the package deal... The box seemed pretty decent as par as packaging goes,, and although it wasn't a wood and leather turn of the century Gillette box,, that's not what they were going for when they made the thing.... Most people don't store things in the original box these days anyway.... The razor itself seemed to be very well made... I know my way around a machine shop and my vintage Gillettes,, and I was very pleased with the craftsmanship.... Everything fits together well and the level finish seems to be a cut above 'the norm'.... These guys keep their tolerances pretty tight... There is next to no play between the head and base when the handle is tightened down,, and the whole razor fits together quite naturally.... My only concern was the finish on the head (I have the black head/stainless handle model)..... It has actually held up quite well throughout the past year.... There is a very slight wear-through on the corners... Nothing too noticable unless you're looking for it.... Also,, the soap makes the black parts turn grey... I hit it with the spray foam shower cleaner stuff a few seperate times over the past year and it went back to being black pretty much instantly... So,, a solid "9" is in order....

>>>User Friendly: It's kind of hard to screw this up unless you have no idea what you're doing.... The razor is very forgiving... In the realm of 'non-plastic razors' it's a definite "10" on this one....

>>>Grip: I've heard a lot of varying opinions on the grip... Here's another (mine)... For how highly polished and untextured most of the handle is,, it actually feels pretty solid in the hand... The grip rings are where they need to be and do their job very well... No,, it's not as 'sticky' in the fingers as a crisp NOS knurled fatboy or a fat black bakalite handle on a Gem,, but it never gave my soapy hands any trouble (Yes,,I'm surprised too)...Unless you shave with some sort of bizarre inverted grip double-jointed method,, you shouldn't have any problems.... I've only dropped my razor once and it was completely my fault,, not the handle's.... it gets an 8/10....

>>>Ease of Blade Replacement: It's not as idiot-proof as those 'twist-to-open' units or a MachIII,, but the blades go in pretty easily... The old-style Gillette design makes it pretty easy.... Also,, there isn't that much of a 'slop' in tolerances (depends on the blade),, so you don't have to work hard to keep both edges even as you tighten,, but it's good to keep an eye on it... Once again,, an "8"...

>>>Aggressiveness: This razor is very mild.... I don't think that I cut myself with it once during the whole year.... My styptic pencil is lonely... The occasional dot of blood did appear,, but nothing to write home about..... A "3" feels right here.....

>>>Adjustability: A "4".... "Why",, you ask...??? I know it's not an adjustable razor.... That's not the point.... Gillette used to let this little secret out with their 'Old" style razors: A more aggressive shave can be achieved by 'under-tightening' the handle... Try it... It works really well,, especially on the Goodfella.....

>>>Balance: It's right on the second indented ring from the bottom.... The head does feel a little light,, but the whole razor balances very well right where you hold it..... To be honest,, it has a pretty decent feel to it.... Another "8"....


The conclusion: So,, it's been over a year,, and with the exception of one bloody 'in the field' shave with a single ring,,, I have used nothing but the Goodfella.... In a way I'm relieved that I can move on and try out the dozen+ vintage razors that I have acquired in that time.... In another way,, I understand that the vast majority of my future shaves will probably be with the 'Goodfella".... Even if I thin my collection down to a handful,, the goodfella will stay.... It shaves very well and isn't overly aggressive... I lost more blood shaving with the single ring once than I did with a year of the Goodfella... Part of that could be because I was used to the Goodfella's tame and forgiving nature....

And yes,, I gave that thing one Hell of a testdrive.... Almost every shave was a different combo of:

Blades: Sharp, Derby,, Personna Platinum,, and Israeli Platinum Plus...

Brush: Tweezerman Badger or Omega Boar....

Soap: Tabac,, Susie's Lemongrass and Coconut Lime,,, Speick,, asst. Conk's,, VDH...

Through all of these various combos,, I found that the Goodfella seems to prefer the Derby blades... A 5-pack of these is included from the manufacturer... Coincidence...??? I don't know....

Oh yeah,, one more thing... This is crucial: ALWAYS finish your shave with Lilac Vegetal....!!!!

-Jim
Grip
4.00 star(s)
Price
1.00 star(s)
Balance
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Adjustability
2.00 star(s)
User Friendly
5.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
1.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
4.00 star(s)
This thing looks like the love child of a chrome Merkur Futur and a Merkur open comb. I never thought a razor could make my little 1904 look beefy but this one manages it...this is one small razor folks. It is however a sexy little minx so I decided to keep an open mind and give it a whirl. :001_wub:

Balance: Not great to be honest. Not shockingly bad, but the head feels considerably lighter than the handle...though to be fair, the balance point does seem to fall right at the grip point on the handle which is nice.

Adjustability: N/A

Aggressiveness: It isn't aggressive at all. I didn't want to ding this thing marks simply because it's a mild razor, especially when I don't always think that aggressive = better. I had to try pretty hard to cut myself (I eventually did after much effort on my part) and I think that this 'mildness' would be a good thing for somebody just coming off a cartridge and learning the DE ropes. Good for those shaky hangover shaves as well.

Ease of blade replacement: Not easy, not hard. The head doesn't come apart as easily as my 1904 however and I have to separate the two pieces by hand which I guess in theory could be dangerous but if you're careful you aren't going to cut yourself.

Grip: The 'gripped' portion of the razor is quite easy to grip but the rest of the handle has quite a slippery feel to it. I haven't found this to be a problem however and I haven't dropped it yet, although I do prefer a 'knurled' handle I can grip anywhere.

User Friendly: This is a user-friendly razor in the sense that it is forgiving and easy to shave with. Blade replacement could be easier but as stated above, it really isn't a problem. One thing to keep in mind is that the head itself is quite flat so a slightly different shaving angle is probably required (the handle almost parallel to the floor for me).

Quality: I feel that this is a quality product. The plating on mine is excellent and even and the threads feel more precise than my Merkur models. The metal used on the head is quite thin, comparatively, but I don't see breakage ever being a problem.

Price: Let's get right to it - this razor is expensive. I guess though if it's just a couple of guys designing and producing it themselves from scratch the price seems a little more justified.

Verdict: This is an interesting little razor. It is smaller than most and takes some getting used to but I have had no problems shaving to BBS with it and it looks pretty darn cool too. I can't see everyone paying $60 for it however, especially with so many other choices out there. I do however think it's pretty cool that there are enterprising guys out there even thinking about designing and producing safety razors and, considering their lifetime guarantee, maybe $60 isn't really that unreasonable.

People who might be interested in this razor:

  • Somebody just coming off cartridges that wants a mild razor to start off with and either isn't interested or doesn't know about vintage Gillettes (or the Merkur HD for that matter).
  • Somebody who must have every model of razor ever produced.
  • Somebody from NZ who likes the fact that it's made in their own backyard.
  • Somebody with extra cash who wants a cool-looking travel razor.

People who probably wouldn't be interested in this razor:

  • Somebody who is fairly experienced with DEs and has tried many models and knows what they like. This isn't going to bring anything new to table.
  • Somebody who is on a tight budget.
  • Somebody who is wise to Ebay/the BST and knows how to get a comparably-performing razor for much less.
Grip
3.00 star(s)
Price
3.00 star(s)
Balance
3.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Adjustability
1.00 star(s)
User Friendly
4.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
1.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
3.00 star(s)
Got this little gem last week and am very pleased with it. Not aggressive in the least. Very easy to manoever under nose and over chin. My facial hair is on the thin side and was able to get an almost BBS with 1 pass. I usually go for a 2 pass. This is an open comb design and very well balanced, albeit a little on the lightweight side. #2 in my top 3. Only EJ Chatsworth beats it.
Grip
4.00 star(s)
Price
4.00 star(s)
Balance
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Adjustability
1.00 star(s)
User Friendly
5.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
1.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
4.00 star(s)
If you like the open comb design, want a light and easy to use razor, demand high quality workmanship and desire a really nice shave this could be the razor for you.

After using it for some time, I find the open comb design is not for me. I also found the handle to be a tad small and slick. Still, it is a good razor and, I feel, worth the price.
Grip
1.00 star(s)
Price
2.00 star(s)
Balance
5.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Adjustability
0.00 star(s)
User Friendly
3.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
3.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
5.00 star(s)
I too got the Goodfella Razor from the group buy from shavingessentials.net and am generally happy with the purchase - John's extra samples were an added bonus and the razor itself was a good value at the group price of $47 shipped. I can't say I'd pay the www.goodfella.co.nz msrp of $64 for one though -it's nice, but there are just too many used Merkurs and Gillettes available here or on eBay that you could easily get 2 or 3 razors for that kind of money. In any case, I just finished shaving with it, and since my only other experience is with a Merkur Progress (which I love), I can only compare it to that:

It produced a smooth shave but not as smooth for me as the Progress and it was a little harsher shaving with than I'm used to. This probably has less to do with the razor itself than with the fact that I need to adjust my shaving style a little to really get comfortable with it.

I found the handle a little slicker and smaller than I'm used to, but it wasn't hard to deal with or slipping out of my hand. Again, I've used a Progress for over 5 years and getting used to the different handle probably has more to do with me than the razor.

I'll definitely be taking it for a few more shaves to get used to it, and while I may not replace the Merkur as my daily shaver with it, the quality is top notch, the lifetime warranty is an added bonus, and it's compact & stylish enough to make a super travel razor if you can get one for a fair price.
Grip
2.00 star(s)
Price
2.00 star(s)
Balance
4.00 star(s)
Quality
4.00 star(s)
Adjustability
0.00 star(s)
User Friendly
5.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
2.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
5.00 star(s)
I bought a solid stainless steel polish "Lux" razor on E Bay for £4.50! I spent some time working on the head and guard with a diamond sharpener, jewellers files and power buffer and it is now finished to as fine tolerances as any Goodfella razor, for a fraction of the price! Being stainless steel means it will last for centuries!!!
The Goodfella is TOO expensive in my opinion.
Cheers,
Martin
Took this little beauty for a test drive this morning after receiving it from the group buy from Shavingessentials.net. First imprression is that this is a well thought out razor and the fit and finish is remarkable. I wanted to support a company who is bringing a new line of DE razors to the market.
I followed my normal routine to a T to make sure my prep work did not skew my judgement. Fresh from the shower I prepared a nice TOB St. James Collection SC and applied in my normal manner. The razor has a nice feel and although I was concerned about the smooth chrome handle the grooves at the balance point provided a great grip. This is my first open comb razor and although I did not achieve a BBS is was a very good DCS. This razor can not be accused of being aggressive in any manner..I would compare it to my Gillette Gold Tech. (I normally go with my Merkur HD or Gillette Fat Boy).
This razor is a little over priced in my mind if you buy from the web site that is why I jumped on the group buy. If you are looking for a mild shaver I would say that this is a nice razor to think of if you have the $$. Overall a recommend.:lol:
Grip
4.00 star(s)
Price
3.00 star(s)
Balance
4.00 star(s)
Quality
5.00 star(s)
Adjustability
0.00 star(s)
User Friendly
5.00 star(s)
Aggressiveness
3.00 star(s)
Ease of Blade Replacement
4.00 star(s)
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