The Henson, wow

[Joezamboni]

Generally speaking I’m a vintage Gillette guy. Great shave, lots of personality and history to the razors and a bit of variety.

I like a lot of the older Above the Tie offerings and slants, but most modern razors are kind of “meh”

Gamechanger, tried the .68, .84 and even the .76 when it came out as I complained openly one was a tad too mild and the other a tad too aggressive. Perfect gap, not happy. Lupo .58, also gathering dust. Wolfman WR2 1.15, meh. My old Weber has long been outclassed. Then I still have an R41 and R89 in the back of the collection.

So after reading thread upon thread saw a Henson for sale. Even tried to resist buying another modern by commenting about the deal to get someone else to buy it.

Alas, the seller cut the price and beat me (figuratively) into submission.

It’s the medium aggression, gave it a quick try but wow. Yes, it requires a bit more attention to maintain angle initially, but it isn’t hard to get used to. It’s aluminum, so now I have to be patient and wait to a titanium model to show on BST so my stainless handles don’t get the better of the threads. I havent tried a mild but the medium is perfectly assertive with a medium sharpness blade without being aggressive.

Its smooth, forgiving, and the result even with a half hearted cold lather shave is amazing the first time around.

 

[loco95]

Nice review, after reading so many positive statements about the Henson one cannot help feeling like missing out as Karves is pretty much my destination razor(s).

RAD bless

 

[Kix]

The Henson razors have firmly established themselves as a real player in the safety razor world.
I own a + and +++, the latter being a favorite, offering an excellent shave with minimum worry about skin trauma.
They are great razors.

 

[Qanzoq]

Henson is a great razor for beginners or experienced shavers

I have the + & +++ and will get the ++ in the future.

 

[IMightBeWrong]

I have an older Henson from before they had different levels of aggression. Anyone know what level it would be? It’s excellent for sure. Been considering a Ti for a long time.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I have an older Henson from before they had different levels of aggression. Anyone know what level it would be? It’s excellent for sure. Been considering a Ti for a long time.

Probably close to the current medium, more info in the wiki:

Henson Razor Models

Page to document what we know about the versions of the Henson Razor

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[arthurdl]

I've stayed away from shaving forums from more than year because pretty much my shaving routine got almos the same everyday. This was literally the first post I read and now I'm a couple of clicks away from buying a Henson razor. I really missed being excited about trying new stuff

 

[Fiddler]

Henson and Blackland are two companies that take innovation seriously rather
than a mere soundbite.

 

[Joezamboni]

Received the +++ and had my first shave with that today. Was my typical weekday fast and reckless and was impressed.

A notably larger “sweet spot” with regards to the shaving angle. Still smallish, but for the ++ it’s slightly annoying to deal with in regards to a quick shave. Although I think the ++ will probably be my head shaver. Also, the +++ is notably closer. To the point where it’s a good BBS shave, the ++ can do it, but requires more attention to angle, clean up, and in a quick shave situation doesn’t do it as well.

keep in mind I also don’t have even two weeks with both using them. I might fine tune my ability to find my angle more, but these are my initial impressions.

For comparisons sake the last three days, using the same Polsilver SI blade I switched it to a Fatboy, super adjustable, and a tech.

Using a sharp blade on hair the isn’t too coarse it can be difficult to tell the difference in smoothness with the Henson. How forgiving the Henson is stands out the most. Even the +++ doesnt evoke fear.

However, this is where the simple design of the Tech stands out. The post war etched cap tech I used in between the two Hensons doesn’t allow for the same carelessness while shaving. It‘s pretty mild, easier than the ++ to get a good shave with and does offer stout competition to the +++.

Which really brings on the question of value. As a first razor, the Henson is a great choice. For someone that is skilled and already can get a good shave with a vintage Gillette it may be hard justify the cost unless they headshave or get rough shaves/skin irritation/nicks using Gillettes.

I‘m happy with my purchases, but don’t see my Gillettes collecting dust anytime soon. I do see some of the justification for the moderns I have being less though (including of my Razorock Superslant).

 

[Joezamboni]

Closer to final final thoughts.

The Henson ++ is my headshaver.

I‘ve had a hard time using techs and then a “Fusion” for cleanup on my head. I can use the Henson quick in the morning more often with a 7 O’Clock late production russian blade and no fusion needed.

The +++ is in a state of limbo. I’ll give it some more trials, but I have more fun using a vintage Gillette and, aside from the old type, they’re just less effort regarding maintaining angle and my face is far more forgiving then my head.

 

[idjekyll]

I'm curious if anyone uses any of the Hensons with a Kai blade. How does the extra bit of exposure change the quality of the shave?

 

[tm3]

I'm curious if anyone uses any of the Hensons with a Kai blade. How does the extra bit of exposure change the quality of the shave?

You may want to ask/explore this question in the Henson Owner Club thread for more details. I tried the Kai and while it is a nice blade I could not tell any significant difference.

 

[MattyW]

Yeah, a Henson Ti22 Medium is one of my 3 to razors and shave beautifully with a Wizamet Super Iridium loaded. Pretty much on par with the Yaqi Bohemia with the same blade but it’s pretty hard to argue with the ease of shaving with the Henson. I found the AL13 mild to be lovely with a Feather but doesn’t get quite as close as the Medium + Wizamet which is just as smooth. The Pearl Flexi + Euromax blades is also a top 3 shave for me.

I wanted to live the Karve Overlander and various Alysworth razors but could never get a good result with them. I find myself wanting to cut the number of rescues down to just the best 3 and those 3 are quite noticeably better than everything else I’ve tried.

 

[awk_m4]

I'm curious if anyone uses any of the Hensons with a Kai blade. How does the extra bit of exposure change the quality of the shave?

Last week I used Kai blades in my Henson. I didn’t enjoy shaving with them at all. They leave my skin irritated. I commented on them in the One and Done Club. Feather blades on the other hand, are just sublime.

 

[RB3812]

I asked for and received a Henson (standard?) for Christmas, so I've had nine months to get used to it. Generally, it shaves
pretty well, but being aluminum, I found it pretty light. In reading another Henson thread here, somebody suggested the
HEAVY handle (MR8) from Maggard Razors. I finally got around to ordering one and shaved with it this morning for the first time.....

OMG, what an improvement!!!! I found that I don't need to use nearly as much pressure, and can concentrate more on "technique." I feel like I got a much better shave.....almost BBS!!! Can't wait to continue to feel the improvement going forward!!!

 

[threshyper]

The thing that turned me off about Henson was that I didn't like the feeling of it sucking on my face.

 

[RazorTom]

They're nicely constructed, but the light weight, flat top cap, and preset angle just doesn't work for me. I know they're very popular razors, but I ended up giving mine away.

 

[No1Up]

Yeah, a Henson Ti22 Medium is one of my 3 to razors and shave beautifully with a Wizamet Super Iridium loaded. Pretty much on par with the Yaqi Bohemia with the same blade but it’s pretty hard to argue with the ease of shaving with the Henson. I found the AL13 mild to be lovely with a Feather but doesn’t get quite as close as the Medium + Wizamet which is just as smooth. The Pearl Flexi + Euromax blades is also a top 3 shave for me.

I wanted to live the Karve Overlander and various Alysworth razors but could never get a good result with them. I find myself wanting to cut the number of rescues down to just the best 3 and those 3 are quite noticeably better than everything else I’ve tried.

I’ll be trying the Ti22 ++ with Wizmet blades tomorrow morning based on your comment

 

[No1Up]

The thing that turned me off about Henson was that I didn't like the feeling of it sucking on my face.

I didn’t like this, until I realized it was helpful, if it’s sucking, I’m applying too much pressure, and might want to re-lather. Almost no pressure and proper lather, you won’t have the sucking. lol use it as a feature and not a bug!

 

[MattyW]

I’ll be trying the Ti22 ++ with Wizmet blades tomorrow morning based on your comment

How the shave go? The Henson is still one of my top razors but the Yaqi Bohemia remains my number one razor. It widened the lead once I sent it to Razor Emporium for polishing and Rhodium plating. Nothing else comes remotely close.