A Poll for Henson AL13 fans - handle length

[JCinPA]

I'm a huge fan of my new Henson AL13++ razor head, but not a fan of the long handle. It hits my chest or collarbone on the N/S passes on my neck. I put a normal length Edwin Jagger handle on it and LOVE it. They have made a shorter handle in the past and I inquired about this and their reply was, "Regarding the short handles, yes, we did at one point manufacture those as well as longer handles and stainless steel versions, but the issue we ran into was that there wasn't enough of a market to continue to justify manufacturing them and keeping them in stock. We do keep tabs on the number of requests that we get for them however, so that if in the future we find enough feedback on people wanting them, we may consider bringing them back, or our other handle length options."

I believe that is because they sold the razor with the long handle and offered the short as an after market purchase (I think). There is a reason current Muhle, Edwin Jagger, Merkur, Parker, et al, come with "standard" handles, as well as most of the classic vintage razors. Some undoubtedly like the longer handle but i think it was a poor choice by Henson.

QUESTION: If a short handle had been an option when you bought your razor, would you have selected it? Second question is if they offer it as a stand-alone again, would you buy one for your current razor? I will share this with Henson if it looks like there is significant interest.

 

[JCinPA]

I can't figure out how to post the second question. If someone else knows how, can you do it? Or help me learn to do it?

QUESTION: If Henson offered a short handle as a stand alone product, would you buy one?

Yes []
No []

 

[kaufdrop27]

@JCinPA

I have the short handle. If you are conus pm me your address and I’ll pay it forward to you. I only ask that you consider paying it forward if you no longer need it or decide it’s not for you.

 

[nlife]

I no longer use my Henson +, but I really don't care for long handles on any of my DE razors. I prefer a shorter handle.

 

[D19M]

If the handle supplied is the long handle I am happy with it.

 

[Vraad]

I wanted the longer handle but it was like 30 bucks and they only made them in silver I believe. stock handle is nice but a tad short for me.

 

[JCinPA]

@kaufdrop27 thanks, PM sent!

 

[tm3]

QUESTION: If a short handle had been an option when you bought your razor, would you have selected it? Second question is if they offer it as a stand-alone again, would you buy one for your current razor?

Answering the poll doesn't fully answer the question, so here goes:

1) If a short handle had been offered, that is what I would have bought figuring that I really liked my Merkur short handles -- and I would have missed out on what is one of my favorite features of the Henson, i.e. the long, tapered, well knurled handle.

2) If a short handle was offered now as a stand-alone, I would not buy one.

 

[JCinPA]

Thanks for all the replies.

It looks like if they offered the razor with either handle, they'd please a lot of people. I think it's better than only selling the long and having the short as a stand-alone. They should offer + or ++, choice of color, and long or short, I think.

If we get close to 20 responses, I'll share this with them.

Cheers,

 

[T Bone]

I started with a DE as Henson's target customer, a cartridge shaver switching to DE. My first DE was a Henson+, and I'm sure I would have bought the standard handle if there were shorter and longer options.

When I bought my ++, I might have gone with the short handle, just because I kinda like the look of shorter handles.

But the standard handle works just fine for me. Handle length is not a big deal to me. Given the choice, I'd probably go short, but I don't feel like I'm missing anything and certainly wouldn't buy the short handle separately.

 

[Omega48]

The current one is fine for me.

 

[JCinPA]

One last bump to see if I can get 20 responses. Looks like there is enough love for both handles that Henson should consider offering both. At about 70/30 short/long right now.

Thanks!

 

[SalS]

The existing handle and razor is absolutely perfect. I know some in the “shaving elite” don’t agree.

 

[lancre]

The long (current) handle is OK, but if a shorter (~ 3.0"-3.25") been available when I bought mine, I'd have chosen the short.

In view the prices charged by the razor manufacturers for stand-alone handles, I would not buy one, a spare Tech handle works fine.

 

[MisfitWy23]

It seems I've read long handles were originally made for women where it's supposed to make it easier for them to reach parts of their legs or something, otherwise I've always figured long handles are for men who hold their razors two-handed, like a baseball bat.

So I voted short handle. Never been very good at baseball.

 

[awk_m4]

Regular handle for me.

Henson Usage (number of shaves) through 07/06/2024
Total shave with Henson Razors: 976
Detailed breakdown by aggression:

Henson + = 465
Henson ++ = 216
Henson +++ = 295

 

[DeBladeRunner]

I would choose the one in the middle if given the option..

 

[lancre]

One last bump to see if I can get 20 responses. Looks like there is enough love for both handles that Henson should consider offering both. At about 70/30 short/long right now.

I can see a few problems with that assumption:

1.) From a marketing viewpoint - are B&B members representative of the market Henson wants?
2.) Minuscule sample size - just 1 or 2 people on vacation this week could drastically change the results.
3.) Selection Bias - people who are happy with the Hensons might be less likely to vote. Refer to issue #2.

 

[JCinPA]

@lancre I could not care less about any of that, I'm not doing a professional marketing study. I'm trying to get Henson to offer at least the silver (maybe not all the colors) with a choice of long or short handle. They have the CNC programming for it because they've made them before. It is only one more SKU. I think I can make a good case that they do that.

You raise good points and I'm not arguing with any of them, mind you, I just don't care. This is a very sophisticated shaving community, and if we have something like a 70/30 split in favor of the short, I think I might talk them into having it as an option going forward in at least one color. I would like to have at least 20 respondents, however. Any less and it probably won't be as compelling an argument.

 

[lancre]

I voted for short, but not as a standalone. Also explained myself, and then added comments to you separately.