Thinking hard about a Henson AL13

[couch_potato]

I don't see any difference in clogging. I make my soap like yogurt and have never had an issue. Both rinse clean easily. I am not sure what you mean by number of days. I can shave with either everyday of the week, and I normally do. I have gone up to four days without shaving and had no issues. The Henson can handle it, either one. Obviously, if you had a long growth it would easier to take it down with clippers first, as with any razor. If smoothness were my number one criteria I would get the standard/mild. I bought my wife a mild for her legs and underarms. She has thick black hair on her head, if that helps. She loves it. I got myself a medium and later a mild. There is not a lot of difference between them. There is some, but not enough that if I had a mild I would have to buy a medium. I originally thought the difference was more, but as I got used to the way the Henson shaves, a lot of that disappeared. The mild is a lot easier on my face and neck. I use the medium, but I have to be slightly more careful; not a lot, but some. I have given myself a couple of weepers by getting too careless with the medium, but never with the mild. As far as number of passes, a lot depends on preparation and soap. If I prep right and use the same soap, I'd say the medium is a tad more efficient, but it is not enough to notice unless you do side by side comparisons. Technique is more important than the mild or medium, I think. I can only say that I usually, but not always, have less finishing to do with the medium by a small amount. The mild does not even shave through some irregularities on my skin that I have to watch with other razors. If I were not sure, I'd get a mild/standard. It would never be wrong. I can change aggressiveness simply by changing the brand of blade to one that is a hair wider. I like sharp blades like Feather, Shark, Nacet, etc. in my Hensons. The Astra is good, too, but milder. That's for my face.

Sorry, didn't noticed that I missed a word while typing on my phone
Yes, by the number of days I mean days of beard/whiskers growth between shaves, but you answered my question anyhow. Many thanks for that. It was very clear and detail-rich, I really appreciate

It's planned to end up as a gift for my wife, for same reason - no irritation compared to disposable razors. When I started DE shaving I had some basic tools (Wilkinson Sword Classis - black plastic one, Muhle R89 on the mild side and Fatip OC for more efficiency). I didn't noticed issues even after shaving on the 7th day of beard growth, apart of using mild razors (and I'm also using more slick-wattery lather as well) so it might be the thing. Now, after full 2 years with R89 not only my muscle memory improved but I seem to get better results with it when compared to Fatip OC, sounds crazy, right?
I targeted Henson in expectation to be mild, smooth and provide all benefits of DE shaving. If it works for men, I'm sure it would be good enough for wife's "touch-ups"

Once more - thanks all for support and sharing experience! One Henson mild ordered.

 

[Doc Dan]

Sorry, didn't noticed that I missed a word while typing on my phone
Yes, by the number of days I mean days of beard/whiskers growth between shaves, but you answered my question anyhow. Many thanks for that. It was very clear and detail-rich, I really appreciate

It's planned to end up as a gift for my wife, for same reason - no irritation compared to disposable razors. When I started DE shaving I had some basic tools (Wilkinson Sword Classis - black plastic one, Muhle R89 on the mild side and Fatip OC for more efficiency). I didn't noticed issues even after shaving on the 7th day of beard growth, apart of using mild razors (and I'm also using more slick-wattery lather as well) so it might be the thing. Now, after full 2 years with R89 not only my muscle memory improved but I seem to get better results with it when compared to Fatip OC, sounds crazy, right?
I targeted Henson in expectation to be mild, smooth and provide all benefits of DE shaving. If it works for men, I'm sure it would be good enough for wife's "touch-ups"

Once more - thanks all for support and sharing experience! One Henson mild ordered.

It's a good choice. I got my wife a red one. What color did you get yours?

 

[ewk]

Again, I've only had 4 shaves with the AL13 Mild. But you've got me curious about getting a bbs easier with the medium. So I contacted Henson to ask if they sell the Medium baseplate separately that I could assemble with the handle and topcap of my AL13 Mild. They responded quickly, but they said that the top cap and the base plate are both different for the mild vs. the medium, and only the handle is the same. As the top cap and base plate are the most difficult parts to machine and use the most material there would be very little discount to sell the assembled heads separately. Therefore, to try both aggressions would require purchasing both razors separately.

I'll stick to the Mild for now. I don't fancy dropping $140 on 2 almost identical razors in the span of 2 weeks.

You are doing fine to stick with the mild. As @Walleyeb said, BBS is very achievable with the mild. I did a side-by-side shave with both, and I was astounded to feel the same BBS result after 3 passes. There was more stubble on the mild side after the first pass, but both sides were equally BBS after 3 passes.

I was an early Henson customer and thankfully purchased both of mine before the price increase.

I also shave the head, so for me having both is not a wasteful extravagance. I prefer the mild on the face, medium on the dome.

 

[mikhou]

You are doing fine to stick with the mild. As @Walleyeb said, BBS is very achievable with the mild. I did a side-by-side shave with both, and I was astounded to feel the same BBS result after 3 passes. There was more stubble on the mild side after the first pass, but both sides were equally BBS after 3 passes.

Yep. Had another great shave with my AL13 Mild yesterday.

 

[Walleyeb]

I asked “Can you buy a mild Henson razor and a medium head? I assume it’s the same handle on each razor, so if you initially by a mild AL13, could you subsequently buy a medium head? If so what would be the cost and how would purchase it?”

I received the following response from Henson:


A: Both the top cap and the baseplate of the head are different for each aggression of the Henson razor. This means, a mild top cap could not be put with a medium base plate, and vice versa. Since these pieces are the most difficult parts of the razor to machine and use the most material, there would be very little discount if we sold the complete head separately from the handle. For this reason, we do not sell them separately.

If you wish to have more than one aggression, you would have to purchase the different razors in those aggressions.

 

[mikhou]

I asked “Can you buy a mild Henson razor and a medium head? I assume it’s the same handle on each razor, so if you initially by a mild AL13, could you subsequently buy a medium head? If so what would be the cost and how would purchase it?”

I received the following response from Henson:


A: Both the top cap and the baseplate of the head are different for each aggression of the Henson razor. This means, a mild top cap could not be put with a medium base plate, and vice versa. Since these pieces are the most difficult parts of the razor to machine and use the most material, there would be very little discount if we sold the complete head separately from the handle. For this reason, we do not sell them separately.

If you wish to have more than one aggression, you would have to purchase the different razors in those aggressions.

That’s verbatim what I received. They must get that question a lot and then they cut and paste that answer.

 

[APBinNCA]

I have played around with mixing parts. The mild is a tiny bit wider(safety bar to safety bar) resulting in less blade exposure. The top cap is wider to match, but it is harder to see the added width. The most noticeable difference being the radius of the curve at the very top, the mild being more curved due to a slightly wider radius. The Yates is a good example of the evolution of the Henson design with regard to adding some curvature to the top cap and thereby making the flat side less well defined.

TLDR: you can put the different parts together accidentally and I suspect Henson would prefer you didn't do that. The change is small and not beneficial.

 

[gdawg55]

I was going to order a Henson and I ended up ordering the Wet shaving club's "Winning" razor. A few reasons put me in that direction:

1. The head is almost identical (comparable to the Henson medium)
2. It's made by Yates and although I don't own a Yates, I've read that they're high quality
3. It's made in the USA
4. It's stainless steel vs. aluminum so the extra weight should suit me better
5. Reviews are excellent
6. I got it for $49.50 total shipped to my door with a 10% off coupon (Can't beat it for the price!)

It should arrive this week and I'll be posting my results!

Either way, I'm sure I'll still buy a Henson just for the heck of it at some point, LOL!!

The Winning Razor | 100% Stainless Steel

Why is it called "The Winning Razor?" Find out. We think you will agree that given all of its advantages, we could not call it anything else!

wetshavingclub.com

They shave completely different. Both great razors.

 

[LRod]

I'll stick to the Mild for now. I don't fancy dropping $140 on 2 almost identical razors in the span of 2 weeks.

I dropped $120 in 2 days for 2 adjustables, LOL!!
Parker Variant & Pearl Flexi!
Ordered the Variant and the same night read some threads about the Flexi and off I went ordering the Flexi on the next day.
Totally unplanned but the B&B (influence) got me there!! hahahahaha..

 

[Doc Dan]

The bad thing about Hensons is the temptation to collect all of the colors.

 

[APBinNCA]

You joke, but when these were cheaper it was a thing to buy different colors and mix the pieces.

 

[mikhou]

I love the Henson, but now the Winning Razor is calling me for a comparison! . But I’m pretty frugal so I’ll probably just stick to the Henson for now.

 

[sneefy]

My Henson cured me of the need to acquire another razor. It's that good.

 

[Doc Dan]

Today, I got out my AL13 "mild" and put in a Feather blade. I used La Toja shave cream, warmed my beard up in the shower and afterwards got a nice thick lather in the bowl. I used a Yaqi 22mm synthetic Cola brush. As always, the Henson gave me a fantastic shave, without any irritation or weepers. I did two passes and some minimal touch up of areas I didn't get properly. I rarely do three. I like to be able to do everything in two passes with touch up if possible. The Henson delivers.

 

[mikhou]

Today, I got out my AL13 "mild" and put in a Feather blade. I used La Toja shave cream, warmed my beard up in the shower and afterwards got a nice thick lather in the bowl. I used a Yaqi 22mm synthetic Cola brush. As always, the Henson gave me a fantastic shave, without any irritation or weepers. I did two passes and some minimal touch up of areas I didn't get properly. I rarely do three. I like to be able to do everything in two passes with touch up if possible. The Henson delivers.

I’m interested in trying it with both the Kai and the Feather blades.

 

[LRod]

I love the Henson, but now the Winning Razor is calling me for a comparison! . But I’m pretty frugal so I’ll probably just stick to the Henson for now

I bought one last week. It's awesome because of it's heavier stainless steel USA made Yates construction.
Not trying to enable you to purchase, LOL! but if you go to wetshavingclub.com and browse around the site, you'll get a popup to enter your email. You do that and they email you a coupon. I got 10% off and paid $50 with free shipping + some free blades. Great deal for a razor that's worth twice that amount!!

 

[couch_potato]

It's a good choice. I got my wife a red one. What color did you get yours?

Purple one
My "most convenient" retailer got only purple and red in mild version, while coral (pink) was available in medium variant only (guess just supply-demand thing). Seems nice though.

 

[Doc Dan]

Purple one
My "most convenient" retailer got only purple and red in mild version, while coral (pink) was available in medium variant only (guess just supply-demand thing). Seems nice though.

Nice color. She'll love it.

 

[mikhou]

5th shave with my Henson AL13 Mild with a second-time use Treet Platinum. The blade was a little dull, but the Henson did its job. Even with some tugging, no issues whatsoever with nicks or weepers and ended with a smooth shave after some significant touch up.

Probably going to give the RK blades that came with the Henson a run next time.

 

[Doc Dan]

Some blades are just not worth it. They don't shave well.