Henson Al13 Is Worth The Hype
- Thread starter Angus89
- Start date
I have a AL13+ and find it to be an excellent razor that works well as a daily driver.
I think I have around 5 Hensons, so that says what I think about them.
Henson Razor First Use: October 14, 2021
"First ever Face and Head shave with the Henson AL 13 Mild. I had my doubts with the small blade gap but the results just blew me away! Ridiculously good!"
Henson Usage (number of shaves) through 11/07/2023
Total shave with Henson Razors: 711
Detailed breakdown by aggression:
Henson Mild = 326
Henson Medium = 117
Henson Aggressive= 268
Paul aka the self proclaimed Henson King
"First ever Face and Head shave with the Henson AL 13 Mild. I had my doubts with the small blade gap but the results just blew me away! Ridiculously good!"
Henson Usage (number of shaves) through 11/07/2023
Total shave with Henson Razors: 711
Detailed breakdown by aggression:
Henson Mild = 326
Henson Medium = 117
Henson Aggressive= 268
Paul aka the self proclaimed Henson King
Consider this >
www.badgerandblade.com
May help and also minimize thread dups...
Henson Razor Club.
I bet that was a great shave, just the pic alone looks like a great shave! Cheers
www.badgerandblade.com
May help and also minimize thread dups...
Congratulations!! 
Me too.
It's like the perfect balance among a cartridge razor, DE razor, and straight razor.
One for each day, Mon through Friday?
Well, I have the Ti22 **, the AL13 *; **; and ***; and I gave my wife a red AL13*.
Here's a photo of some of my light weight razors, a lot of Henson in there. All 3 aggressions in both metals. I'm a fan.
Does anyone happen to know if whether the Henson topcaps are interchangeable with the various plate aggressions, or is the topcap specific to the baseplate?
I really wish they'd sell baseplates and top caps like the Rockwell.
But, to answer your question, I think that the top cap and base plate are both different.
They're varying both blade gap and exposure.
You are 100% correct. I actually had the answer all along, but was too lazy to search my email archives. I asked Henson this question directly in 2021 after purchasing the mild, and wanted to try the medium. Here is the response from Jonathan at Henson:
"We do not sell baseplates on their own as our aggression levels are created through both the top and bottom plates. Since the top and bottom plates are the most difficult part of the razor to machine, they make up the majority of the cost of the razor, so to sell it separately from the handle would not make much of a cost difference."
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I do too, because I don't like the Henson handle design. I have the mild and medium in aluminum and replaced both the handles. I would like to have the mild head in titanium, but it would irk me to buy yet another handle I will not use.
Three Henson in my house, all regular mild.
Never tried a Henson, but that Dorco Prime is a blade I'd buy a hundred of! Amazing quality.
Executive Summary- I am sold on the product
Ramble follows.
Well into my 40's, I was an agnostic shaver. Norelco electric, Bic disposable, Mach 3 etc. Gave little care for product of face prep.
I came across a couple of injectors at my mom's house and was introduced to "wet shaving" I even got the local grocery store to stock schick injector blades. Simultaneously, I realized that the cost of Mach 3 cartridges relative to injectors was significant.
Great shaves though cuts and weepers were always in play. This played havoc on more than one white dress shirt.
I then started down the road of DE shaving. A Schick Krona, a few simple birth year Gillettes and a blade sample pack later, I ultimately settled on the Krona with Astra SPs finding them delivering 95+% of the shave of a feather with less cuts/weepers/irritation.
I then dabbled with Harry's liking the marketing and the travel friendliness. I then pivoted to Dollar Shave Club with COVID and a June 20 Father's Day Gift Certificate. 90% of a DE shave with 90% less cuts weeper when I prepped well with quality products and did a 3 pass shave. DSC was my razor 95% of the time.
When I used DE, I had to be careful or I would get a weeper or 2.
As I eschewed all things made in the PRC, I was taken by Henson and their all Canada pedigree.
I ordered up a Federal Blue Mild and the rest is history.
1. I find the razor to be very simple to use. When loaded with the Astra Sps. A DFS with ease, BBS on checks, still working on technique re neck and jawline. I can easily shave every other day and could go every third day absent court or a dress up event. I concur that if you use just a bit of care, it would be difficult to really cut yourself relative to an injector.
2. Given the mixed reviews of the included RK blades, I am inclined to simply stick with the AstrasSP as I find them to be a REALLY GOOD AND FORGIVING BLADE.
3. I strongly suspect that I will get a second razor in mild as well, a stand and close the loop on DE shaving.
4. I am endeavoring to consolidate my life in all things. I am identifying quality brands/items, I am buying them and selling/giving away previous iterations (i.e. I have sold all other razors except the "heirloom" injectors and the Krona)
5. Henson Mild is like the Glock 19 of the Razor world
a. Far exceeds the intersection of quality/performance/value
b. For the vast majority of folks, they work and work exceedingly well.
c. My hardware "problem" is therefore solved, freeing my mind to handle any software issues.
Ramble follows.
Well into my 40's, I was an agnostic shaver. Norelco electric, Bic disposable, Mach 3 etc. Gave little care for product of face prep.
I came across a couple of injectors at my mom's house and was introduced to "wet shaving" I even got the local grocery store to stock schick injector blades. Simultaneously, I realized that the cost of Mach 3 cartridges relative to injectors was significant.
Great shaves though cuts and weepers were always in play. This played havoc on more than one white dress shirt.
I then started down the road of DE shaving. A Schick Krona, a few simple birth year Gillettes and a blade sample pack later, I ultimately settled on the Krona with Astra SPs finding them delivering 95+% of the shave of a feather with less cuts/weepers/irritation.
I then dabbled with Harry's liking the marketing and the travel friendliness. I then pivoted to Dollar Shave Club with COVID and a June 20 Father's Day Gift Certificate. 90% of a DE shave with 90% less cuts weeper when I prepped well with quality products and did a 3 pass shave. DSC was my razor 95% of the time.
When I used DE, I had to be careful or I would get a weeper or 2.
As I eschewed all things made in the PRC, I was taken by Henson and their all Canada pedigree.
I ordered up a Federal Blue Mild and the rest is history.
1. I find the razor to be very simple to use. When loaded with the Astra Sps. A DFS with ease, BBS on checks, still working on technique re neck and jawline. I can easily shave every other day and could go every third day absent court or a dress up event. I concur that if you use just a bit of care, it would be difficult to really cut yourself relative to an injector.
2. Given the mixed reviews of the included RK blades, I am inclined to simply stick with the AstrasSP as I find them to be a REALLY GOOD AND FORGIVING BLADE.
3. I strongly suspect that I will get a second razor in mild as well, a stand and close the loop on DE shaving.
4. I am endeavoring to consolidate my life in all things. I am identifying quality brands/items, I am buying them and selling/giving away previous iterations (i.e. I have sold all other razors except the "heirloom" injectors and the Krona)
5. Henson Mild is like the Glock 19 of the Razor world
a. Far exceeds the intersection of quality/performance/value
b. For the vast majority of folks, they work and work exceedingly well.
c. My hardware "problem" is therefore solved, freeing my mind to handle any software issues.
My normal shaving regimen of loaded Henson Ti mild with a vintage Wilkinson UK blade and PAA cube pre-shave feels like shaving on ice. The razor just glides effortlessly without worry of cutting myself. This is shaving on cheat-mode.
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