Pils DE All Stainless Razor

I have shaved seven times with my new Pils razor, using a Personna Med Prep blade each tiime. I got a BBS shave each time with two passes; XTG and ATG and got no nicks or cuts. I use two other razors as well; a Tradere Open Comb and a Feather All Stainless. The aggressiveness of the Pils is more aggressive than the Feather, but less than the Tradere. As other reviewers have mentioned, I need to hold my Pils at a steeper angle ( more perpendicular) to my face than with my other razors to get a comfortable shave, so the razor takes some getting used to. Once I got used to it though, it has become my favorite razor.

I bought my Pils at Royal Shave (royalshave.com). I was very impressed with their service. I asked several questions and they were all answered well. They also sent my razor second day mail, after a mistake that I made delayed shipping. I will definitely use their services whenever I can.

PRICE: Expensive, enough said.

QUALITY: The highest of any razor I've seen.

USER FRIENDLY: Proper angle for shave takes some getting used to.

GRIP: Grip is smooth, so, it is slippery when there is soap on my hands.

EASE OF BLADE REPLACEMENT: Very easy. Handle is attached to base of head.

AGGRESSIVENESS: 5 here means that aggressiveness is just right for me.

ADJUSTABILITY; Razor is not adjustable.

BALANCE: Razor is heavy, but very well balanced.

This is a great shaver. It is a top heavy and requires some of the weight taken off of the head. There is very little sound while using the razor.
Quality: Great all stainless steel razor, slightly little top heavy
User Friendly: Very user friendly, easy to use the razor
Grip: Although there is no gnarling on the handle, the razor does not slip even when hands are soapy.
Easy of Blade Replacement: Very easy to replace the blade.
Aggressiveness: The razor feels very mild when using it. However, this is because the razor blade does not vibrate inside the razor while using it. However it does the job extremely well, and so I gave it a 9.
Balance: The head of the razor is heavy. Requires some relearning to get used to the razor.
Overall: Great razor. One should definitely try this razor. I would recommend this razor.

Do you need a Mercedes to go to the supermarket when a Chevy does the same thing? This is a qualitative purchase that justifies itself everytime you slam the door or change blades. When you drop in a blade it seems to fit perfectly with zero tolerances. Once you do it a few times you realize you don't have to check the blades position or straighten it. It is perfectly aligned.

When I first got it I tossed in a Yellow Russian and found it too mild. I noticed Royal Shave has only Feathers listed on the Pils page and that's what I switched to on the second go around. The Pils is about technique since there are no adjustments and I found that I could peel skin just as easily as with more aggressive razors. So, the trick is to get the blade for the job and give you mug your full undivided attention.

I have the 104NE which has the "black plastic" handle. This actually makes the handle thicker by a fraction and it isn't slippery unless your hand gets soapy. Aesthetically the thickness of the black handle seems more pleasing to the eye over the others.

Is this for everybody? Nah, you got to want one and you have to appreciate it for its craftsmanship. Would I consider parting with it? No, it's like a Merc Diesel that you pass down to the family. You just keep feeding it blades and it works the same.

IMO the best looking razor out there . It is pricey, but you get what you pay for. There is no denying the quality in this piece. The only other con is that it can get slippery at times

All reviews like this are completely subjective. I like a heavy razor and a center of gravity 1/3 of the way down the handle from the head. Those who like a razor with a weight bias to the head will love this razor. I don't. On tip of that, the handle is polished stainless with no grip assistance at all. With wet hands and a top-heavy weight bias, this razor is not faith inspiring with damp or wet hands.
On the other hand, the shave is quite comfortable, and the quality of the instrument is quite impressive.
At the time this razor was introduced, it was probably the baddest razor on the block, but nowadays the Tradere's, ATT's, and Feathers make it look dated and considerably behind the design curve. Still a nice addition to anyone's collection with an imposing appearance.

I have now had the all stainless version of this razor in my possession for about a month, and have shaved with it every day (with no days off). In that time, I have sold off all my other razors. More on that in a bit. First, the rating criteria:

Price: Let's get this out of the way: The Pils is not inexpensive by any stretch of the imagination. The company that makes Pils consider themselves to be the manufacturers of Artisanal shaving products. All of their products are well designed and use top notch materials, but you do end up paying for it. At the time of this writing, the Pils retails for about $235 US, with the gold model selling for about $300. For that kind of money, you could own 10 decent Red Tips, or any other mix of vintage Gillettes. Or one rhodium--plated Brit. Price will be a huge deal breaker for many on this razor--I dinged it accordingly here.

Quality: Top notch. The fit and finish of the handle, base and cap are topnotch, as are the materials. The stainless finish is a faint brush finish, which helps hide any small scratches that might come from daily use. Raw finish, and not coated. Razor cleans up easily. Weight is about 160g, which is definitely the heavier end of the scale.

User Friendly: A very easy razor to use. Blade changes are easy, and once you find the proper shave angle daily shaving is automatic. The head profile is actually shorter than most other razors, so getting in and out of tight spots is easy.

Grip: In sticking with the overall design and finish of the razor, Pils chose not to knurl the handle, keeping it smooth, much like the handle on a Merkur Futur. I thought this would make the razor difficult to grip, but I find that dry or wet it grips well. Add soap to the mix and the grip becomes slippery--but a quick rinse under the faucet solves that. I actually rinse the handle before I start, as I find it makes for a superior grip. It would be even better were it knurled; perhaps Pils will add a knurled handle later. I dinged it a few points here because a knurled grip would make the razor perfect in my opinion.

Ease of blade replacement: To replace the blade, you simply spin the head counter-clockwise, which releases the threaded top cap. There are two pins on the base that the blade is aligned to, once the blade is placed you pop the cap back on and give it a spin. To tighten, grip the cap ends with your fingers and tighten ever so slightly. Once the blade is placed, you never have to touch the blade again. Pretty neat.

Aggressiveness: I found the Pils to be middle of the road overall. You do have the ability to hold the blade at a steeper or shallower angle--within limits-but it seems to shave best at the steepest angle. Shaves are close and smooth, but not at the price of losing a layer of skin. Once I switched to the Pils my razor bumps cleared right up, an I find I have significantly less irritation post shave. Not sure how the rating scale works here, would a more aggressive face slicer earn more points than a mild shaver? I don't consider overly aggressive razors to be beneficial, so I'm giving the Pils high points here because I find it to have just the right amount of aggressiveness.

Adjustability: Not applicable.

Balance: As the head is quite heavy, balance is more toward the head of the razor. Finding a workable grip is easy, and when shaving ATG I find that I can grip it by the end, the end cap providing just the right amount of tactile feedback. I know some don't like the way the endcap is placed, but the tactile feedback it provides is very helpful.

Comments: I have shaved with most Merkurs, The EJ razors, and most Gillettes. After shaving with the Pils for a week I sold off all my other razors, including a #16 and #58, and a whole box of Kronas. I found that the Pils gave a shave superior to any other razor I had used up to this point. As I am a minimalist (not a collector), and am only interested in performance, this made perfect sense. I'd rather own one $200 razor that gives the best performance, than own 10 $20 razors that only give adequate performance. So this is probably the ideal razor for the minimalist; but not necessarily the collector. But given that you can easily spend $200 on a vintage Gillette, I don't think the price is as much of an issue as some make it out to be.

Blade selection: Blade selection for me turned out to be somewhat interesting. I assumed that my favorite blades would perform as ably as always, but in a few cases that was not true. I found that testing a number of blades--including blades that had not worked in the past--yielded some surprising results. I found that in addition to working well with NOS blades the Pils made inexpensive blades able--and in some cases--superior performers. At this time, I have gotten excellent results using the following:

Iridium Super
Bic Platinum
Shark Stainless
Personna 74

So if you do end up purchasing a Pils, you might plan on testing a variety of blades to find the ones that work best for you.

Conclusion: The Pils is an outstanding razor, if you can get past the price tag. Cut out your Starbucks for a month, sell off those unused razors, and you can easily afford it. But be forewarned: It may cure you of RAD entirely.

I have one as well and you hit the description right on..I am however unable to give up yet my others for fear of Razor rejection ( a new OC condition) BUT all being said the Feather stainless, Mergress , New Bakelite 45 and the PILS would do the job nicely..maybe we should have a B @ B garage sale.(might make it easier to part with the others knowing they would be going to good homes...hahahah)

I have now been using my Pils for a couple of weeks and have put it through the paces with a variety of hardware and software and feel ready to chime in. The razor is extremely well made and a very good performer, but not transformative. I'm certainly not tempted to sell off the rest of my collection, and would not rate this as my best all around DE. There are others - (New Deluxe Big Boy, New Deluxe Criterion, British Aristocrat #16, Long Comb New with Cooncat Bob Burl Handle, Feather Portable w00t ...) that I feel have an edge in overall performance for me. That said, it is an excellent razor both in terms of quality and performance with a very sleek, striking design (it will always have a place of prominent display in my little shave den). It was a birthday/father's day gift, so I missed the possible guilt/hand-wringing over the price tag. Knowing what I know would I buy it for myself - probably not given the number of really great razors I have. However, if I wanted only one great razor and did not want a used/vintage razor, this would certainly be a top contender - although I do not think this is the best choice for a complete newbie for reasons mentioned below.

User Friendly/Grip/Balance: The razor is very heavy, which I like, but has a somewhat unusual weight distribution, ergonomics and head geometry that takes getting used to. The head is very heavy compared to the handle, so the balance is a bit tippy, like a hammer. The handle, while smooth, perhaps because of the brushing of the SS, is not as slippery as I expected. I do wish the handle was fatter and heavier both for grip and balance reasons.

The blade is also flatter in the head than on most other razors, so that the optimal angle of attack for me was steeper (handle more perpendicular to the face) than for most other razors I've used. Others have mentioned that they have found the optimum angle difficult to locate and that the razor can bite at other angles. I did not find that to be a problem. While the right angle is atypical, the geometry of the head and the way it rests on your face make the right angle pretty apparent. Only if you try to artificially force a more typical, shallow angle will you potentially have problems. I suppose that if you do, you may tend to drag the blade across your skin with the edge pretty perpendicular to the skin, which could tend to cause scraping, skipping and irritation. I found I had more of a tendency to occasionally make the angle a bit too steep, which, due to the shape of the head, makes the edge loose contact with the skin. I had to go over a few spots that got "skipped" at the very beginning. This may be the ultimate no/negative pressure razor. The weight of the head combined with the weight/handle balance and the steep angle make the head positively fall down your face. I found myself pulling back more than pressing to slow things down and keep the right angle. ATG passes were a bit tricky at first given the tendency of the razor head to want to "drop," but once I got used to the weight and balance, were not particularly difficult.

Aggressiveness: The aggressiveness of the razor is hard to calibrate. With the right angle, it feels relatively mild and effortless, but it shaves very closely on each pass like a more aggressive razor. In that sense, I did find the razor to be exceptional - its reduction per pass to smoothness ratio is possibly higher than any other razor I've tried - like a dialed-up Vision/Futur that feels like a Super Speed. The razor also worked well with blades I have found to be underachievers in other razors (e.g. Bics).

All in all, it was a fun and successful experience, but I suspect I would not have had a successful outcome if I were a complete beginner sticking to conventional wisdom. While not the best beginners razor in my view, it is an exquisitely made piece of design art that can also deliver outstanding shaving performance.

Okay, so I have had my PILS for a few days. It is a top shaver with good execution. Mine has a few cosmetic flaws but nothing that would impact the functionality. However, for the price, I think there are better options on the market.

If you are looking to drop serious money for performance, look elsewhere. Most of the other manufacturers have offerings at much better prices. If you are into collecting, this is a good razor to buy.

Price (5): This market is priced above market. It is 6X a Muhle or EJ for example.

Quality (5): It is not poorly made, but it is not top-notch either. If it wasn't for the all stainless aspect, I would have graded it much worse. There are tool marks in the drain holes and the head cover requires some work to get it properly aligned. Since this controls blade exposure, this is worth a hit on the score.

User Friendly (10): I didn't find any issues here.

Grip (5): No knurling or texture on the grip and the grip is too long.

Ease of Blade Replacement (8): The head does not align properly without some babying while I close the razor.

Aggressiveness (10): This razor is tuned right for me for aggressiveness. I can get a BBS without much effort in 3 passes.

Balance (10): I like head-heavy razors, so this one scores well for me.

Overall, unless you are into collecting art, don't waste your money.

So there i was, tempted by the stainless steel beauty, the supposingly perfect DE razor, the pinnacle of razor design, the flawlessness of a PILS.

I bought and received my shiny new razor, fully knowing it would most likely not shave any better than one of the vintage Gillettes or my Futur razor. That out of the way, i DID however expect a fantastic built quality, absolute micrometer exact blade gaps, properly aligned head etc et al.

You can only imagine my surprise when i expected my shiny (actually it's not shiny, it's brushed stainless steel, which i prefer to shiny) new toy. It had a misaligned head!!! OH GOD!!! And the kicker: An uneven bladegap. Not slightly uneven, nope, quite a bit actually. I find this absolutely unacceptable for a razor that costs a quarter of a grand! What's more, there is reports on PILS razors actually starting to show rust spots. Not from the blades but from metal shavings that are embedded in the razor from the manufacturing process. Really? On a razor that costs $240? No way, sorry.

So here we are, a second fairly negative review for a razor that is really expensive. Do YOU want to take the risk and find out if YOURS is flawless?





Let me quickly go over my ratings:

1. Price is obviously too high, i gave it a 1

2. Quality is not so great actually, a 5 in my book.

3. User friendlyness.....well it's ok, another 5. A 2 piece design but not as good as Merkurs for some reason. Felt "weird".

4. Grip is a 6 for me. It almost slipped a couple times and i found the handle slightly too slim. I would have preferred a little larger diameter.

5. Ease of Blade replacement is a 5. As mentioned in User friendliness.

6. Aggressiveness is perfect. Like a Futur at setting 2 or 2.3 or something.

7. Balance was an 8 for me as it balances fairly nicely.

I'm glad to have taken the plunge. Not much to add to existing reviews and none of the problems some people have reported. Perfectly matched blade gap on both sides, moderate aggression and a heavy but well balanced weight. Slick grip is suprisingly grippy, though if you get goop on it you have to rinse it to get your grip back. Blade angle takes a little learning but only a little.

The PILS has been nothing short of fantastic. The razor is hefty and the handle is longer than most other razors I've used. It took a little getting used to, but it feels comfortable now. I have not encountered the alignment or rust issues that I've heard about in the past.

Price: 4/10
I cannot fully comment on the price, as I received this in a contest, but I would have to say that despite its price, the PILS delivers. If something were to happen to my PILS, I wouldn't hesitate to order one for the current listing price if I had the extra spending money. On the plus side, this razor has killed my RAD, from which I suffered greatly. In that sense, it sort of pays for itself, if the RAD hath stricken you hard.

Quality: 10/10
This is where the PILS shines. The razor is very high quality--a real work of art: "An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age." Really, theres something awe-inspiring about picking up the razor, feeling the heft, and putting it to your face. Very cool. As stated above, no rust or misalignment--just excellent design and feel.

User Friendly: 8/10
It's just about as user friendly as a holder of a life-threateningly sharp object can be. Not much to say here, you put a blade in it and shave. A TTO might be a better design for blade replacement, but that will be discussed in the "Ease of Blade Replacement" section.

Grip: 9/10
With its sleek design and lack of "grippiness" on its handle, I expected the PILS to be slick when wet. To my surprise, I haven't had a problem with that at all. It could be the sheer weight of the tool, but I have had no slippage problems whatsoever.

Ease of blade replacement: 4/10
There's no denying the ease of a TTO. This razor is not as easy for me. Balancing the blade on the two small pins that hold it in place while spinning the top cap, especially when you're a clumsy guy like me, can be a pain. I haven't dropped the razor or anything while doing this, but it still is not as easy as a TTO.

Aggressiveness: 4/10 (where 1 is mild and 10 is deadly-aggressive)
It's not as mild as a Tech, but not nearly as aggressive as, say, a slant. There is something special about this razor in terms of its aggression: whereas one pass with the other razors I own doesn't normally take off enough hair for me to look presentable enough to, say, go to work, the PILS seems to take off more hair with one WTG pass. I have sensitive skin and I'm prone to razorburn and weepers, but I haven't had much of a problem with the PILS. One or two rushed mornings did result in some razor bumps, but that's my fault more than the razor's. The ability to do one quick pass and look presentable (not BBS, but clean-looking enough to go to work) helps a lot.

Adjustability: N/A

Balance: 10/10
The center of balance is right below the "neck" of the razor. It can't get any easier than that. Just grab it by that spot and the shave is smooth and simple.

The Pils is my favorite shaver, but I find the handle to be the slipperiest of any razor I have ever tried - so much so that I thought about trying to knurl it myself.

I went to my local hardware and explained my predicament. One of the owner's possible solutions was to put grip-tape (the kind used for slick floors) on the handle. Since this fix was inexpensive and reversible, I gave it a try - and I love it.

The grip is superb, and it slightly increases the diameter of the handle, which is better. Give it a whirl.

Just received the Pils and I like it.

Price ). expensive but all stainless razors are expensive

Quality ). love the stainless .but like others members I was peeved when after 4 shavings there was rust on the underside of the cap...It was determined that they must have used the same machinery dies they used for non stainless and small pieces of metal was pressed into the razor by mistake. ( If Pils wanted to save face they would offer to exchange the heads for ones that where re made)

User Friendly ). The ball bearings in the shaft make it a breeze to spin the head. Also the sides of the head are con-caved so the grip is nice. The handle is smooth , wish there was some sort of knurling but it isn't bad.

Grip ). See above

Ease of Blade Replacement ). Not bad see , User Friendly.

Aggressiveness ). I feel it's close to mid or above aggressiveness . It's definitely more than the Feather AS which i didn't like but not more than the new or new improved heads.

Adjustability ). N/A

Balance ). I like the balance , the head is heavy but the length and weight of the handle adequately adjusts for it.

I borrowed one awhile back and had fun using it. So when a member here offered to sell me this one I took it. I have been using Feathers in it with great results.

The Pils commands a hefty price used. The quality is obvious. The workmanship is flawless. The design is ingenious. To me, it is a user friendly beast. At first it seems frighteningly heavy, but in use it is responsive. I have no issues with the grip or blade replacement; simple and straight forward.

Aggressive is a relative term. I get closer shaves with the Pils than I do with a Futur at 3.5 or 4.0. I rotate a Feather AS, the Futur, and now the Pils. Close, closer, closest.

Balance? This is a top heavy razor. I wasn't sure if I should rate it 10 or N/A.

I never had much of a RAD, but the Pils pretty much ended it.