Premax Safety Razor

Disclaimer: Being relatively new to DE shaving and only owning one other DE razor (Gillette Slim Adjustable) with which to reference this to, my review may be of limited value; nonetheless, this is my experience with this razor.

Initially I was planning on making my first foray into the world of DE shaving with a Merkur HD as it seems to be the most commonly recommended beginner razor. Failing to actually do anything about it for a couple of weeks I ended up purchasing this instead. Lazing around in a hotel room one Sunday afternoon with nothing of value to do, I decided to visit the Shaver Shop I had noticed just up the road from where I was staying. My reasons for purchasing this razor were simple: it was the most expensive one they had, and it felt the best in my hand. After making my purchase I headed back with my new kit in hand, ready to slice my face.



My initial impression of this razor were of the nice finish and its well built feel. It made that plastic thing with three blades, a reverse side single blade, battery compartment, buttons and a small super computer sitting next to it look and feel like a toy (which has since been thrown out). Having had more time to get over the initial excitement, I still believe it's a well made, good looking razor, albeit with a few short comings: 1) The blade requires some fiddling around with in order to get it to sit evenly; 2) Once seated evenly, the blade does not lay evenly across the comb, and; 3) The plating has a few blemishes, although only noticeable up close. Apart from these minor quibbles, it is a well made three piece razor of simple construction with good balance and some weight to it. Sure, blade replacement is a little fiddly, although, I'm talking maybe another 5-10 seconds time required as opposed to a TTO door style razor.

As for the shave itself, well, the first time didn't go so well. I think this may have been out of fear rather than a pure lack of technique; I didn't want to cut myself so I only made a single pass with the lightest of touches and I may have even been holding back some of the weight of the razor. Needless to say, my face was far from BBS after this first shave, but at least I survived without spilling any blood.

Subsequent shaves with this razor have proven my initial trepidation to be of face saving value. This razor will take large chunks of skin with it if you're not careful. I haven't been game enough to try it, but you could probably remove the top three layers of skin in a single pass if you really wanted. Quite simply, I can get a close shave with less effort using this than with my Gillette Slim Adjustable set to 9. There's plenty of blade exposed which sits up a little from the comb and it's an open comb which, from what I've read, is a more aggressive style of razor.

All things considered I like this razor. It's efficient at removing hair and easily reduces a three day growth to a mere stubble in a single pass. Being this brutally efficient at hair removal, it follows logically that it will perform equally well at skin removal, so this probably isn't the most obvious choice for a beginner. In saying that, I must note, that this was my first DE razor and I did manage to get a fairly decent shave after about a week with it. The caution required using this taught me good technique quite quickly and has made using what is now my regular shaver - the Slim Adjustable - an absolute effortless breeze after about a month in the DE camp.

If you live in Australia, give it a go. It is at the more affordable end of our market and may just make a nice addition to your collection.

Looking at the pics it does look the same as the Mühle. What makes them (the mühle as well as the premax) a rebranded Fatip from Italy.

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After some helpful advice from some of my fellow Aussies here I purchased (Au$45) this razor from a shaving chain store here in Oz, Shaverhop. Some have already suggested that this razor is a rebadged Muhle-Pinsel R89. After the reading the R89 review I have to agree, the Premax fits the descriptions and comments on R89.

I purchased the "gold" model, but I have also seen this in "chrome" which was not available when I bought mine. Razor is 3 piece and you unscrew the hollow handle to install a blade. As noted in reviews for the R89, blade placement in this razor is a little tricky and takes a little bit of effort to get the blade to sit even and square. It is not impossible but it is a little disappointing, considering the el cheapo Weishi has not such problems.

I have only used the razor twice. Both times with a Feather blade. This is a quite an aggressive razor, I had been using a Feather Popular DE and/or Weishi. Having said that, the aggressiveness is manageable and has rewarded me with 2 very close (almost BBS) shaves after only 1 pass each time.

This is probably not a good starter razor as I can see that forgiveness is not one of its attributes. Used in the correct way it is very nice razor that delivers good results.