King of Shaves Azor Test Day 1

I contacted King of Shaves' Will King after he had posted on this forum about his new Azor razor. I offered to try if for 30 days exclusively as I needed a razor for trips and didn't want to lose my Merkur or Gillette SS. He agreed and I received a package with 2 Azors (One for my friend who is the other test subject). The packaging was pretty simple in design and function, I was relieved I didn't require a plasma cutter to open it. The Azor's got a pretty interesting design to it, with 2 arms instead of a single neck holding the cartridge in place. Well on to the shave...I used Em's pre-shave oil, and lathered up with Pirate's Cove Menthol soap. I used a 4 pass: NSx2, XTG, ATG with a warm water rinse in between passes and relathering of course. I found the shave to be quite close, and enjoyable, with no nicks, cuts or bruises, MUCH better than my shaves with the M3 or Fusion...the only thing was getting used to something so light, much lighter than it's American counterparts by a long shot. I finished up with an alum block, Thayer's Witch Hazel and Nivea aftershave balm...as soon as I'm done writing this up it's some TABAC cologne and off to work with a pretty darn good shave!
Not bad for day 1!
Thank you Will & Nicky!

You found it better than the Mach and Fusion?

Guess it's no different than any other razor, what one person swears by, another swears at, and the other 80% don't mind either way

I also have one of these. It is not bad. I don't get the razor bumps that Gillette and Wilkinson cartridge razors give me. My only real complaint is that the head takes too much pressure to bend(and as such adjust to the face). If I use that much pressure then the shave will not be very pleasant. At the moment I treat it as a fixed head razor.

hi, was just off to bed (in the UK) and saw you'd got on alright with our Azor, am plsd about that. Regarding the post about the flex, for 2009 we've got developments coming... Also, re Azor storage, we designed it so you can use the tray, and again in 2009, more coming...

Will was also generous enough to send me a razor to try out, and so far it's worked amazingly well on my cheeks and chin area. I'm having a bit of trouble on my neck, but will continue to try it out for the duration... I'm sure I just need to get used to the angle/pressure of the new (to me) head geometry and the way the handle sits in relation to the cartridge.

More to follow...

Amazing stories; love to read them. Whish the AZOR was for sale in the Netherlands (I don't really like to ask for freebies) just to give it a shot. What I like most about the razor is that somebody out there had the guts to challenge Gillette and Wilkinson at the same time with succes too !

Will, thanks for the storage info - very cool indeed.
The Zook, I found the Azor to provide a DFS without the irritation/nicks of the Mach3/Fusion so far - I'm gonna try a night shave tonight. I'll see if any ingrowns start to rear their ugly heads, but so far so good.
talibeard I agree 1,000,000,000,000% that it's about time somebody challenged the big 2, and for cheaper too...I think asking Will about trying one is not a bad thing, I think he would like to see his product in the Netherlands (You should have seen the buzz in the office when I walked in with my friend's Azor), so ask him to try out one, and give some honest feedback! If this works out it's bye, bye overpriced Mach3/Fusion blades, hello travel Azor!

if you email nicky springle, [email protected], tell her i sent you and she'll try and see if we can find you an Azor, you can buy rep carts online from kmishop.com

I will be posting a full review in a while, but here are my impressions after one week of use:

1) Quality - feels cheap, not nearly as solid feeling as the Fusion/Gillette handles, the blade changing mechanism feels cheap and not very durable.

2) Ergonomics - the handle is a little on the short and thin side.

3) Grip - the handle can be a little slippery, especially when using shave oil (smooth plastic + shave oil = slippery).

4) Shave quality - so far, I'd rate it on par with most cartridges. I still like the Sensor better.

5) Cartridge - I can't comment on longevity, all I can say is that after 5 shaves, its still going strong. The one thing I will say is that the cartridge is quite bulky - getting into tight spots/under the nose is a hassle.

6) Shave - pretty comparable to other cartridges. The feel is quite different due to the hinge and there is a bit of a learning curve. This razor does not give me a good one pass shave, but there's not a razor out there that does. I need at least three passes (with, across, against) to get a decent shave, as well as some touch up. This does not shave as close as my DE and I do notice stubble earlier in the day. I have not experienced any razor burn or ingrown hairs and have only nicked myself a couple of times - due to having to get into tight spots by taking strokes in odd directions to accomodate the bulky head.

7) Practicality - The lack of a case or blade cover means that you can't load up the razor and travel with it. This is something I would correct, as it means this isn't a great travel razor.

FWIW, I got the Azor and some KOS product samples (only because they're not available locally) gratis from KOS. The first round of my testing is being done exclusively with KOS products and following their directions - the only modification is the use of an alcohol-based AS splash after the shave and before moisturizing. I will do a comprehensive review of the Azor and the KOS products I'm using after I've given them a fair work out, but these are my preliminary thoughts.

hi chris. thanks for your comments.

i'm saddened you feel it is 'cheap' as actually the materials being used are pretty sophisticated, designed to last for a very long time, and unlike our (overmoulded) competitors this is manufactured in a completely different way, and for reasons that will become clear as our marketing strategy unfolds. metal is good for DE razors as there is a satisfaction of use. we are a bit more 'space age light' though. this notwithstanding, we are looking at a 'heavier' version, but as more expensive to manufacture, with more energy and serving same purpose, is nowhere near as elegant.

re ergonomics, we spent years on this, and the overall feedback from regular users is 'different...and better, actually'.

re grip, i've shaved with the development azor thru to production azors with my shaving oil for 2 years now, and it's not slipped away. there are also (amazingly) patents around grips, so this area not quite as straightforward as it might appear...

shave quality - well, it's a multiblader, so we're happy with a sensor/M3 comparison, i think it's better than fusion as 'too many blades'.

re cover/travel, we're working on this, but not at the expense of putting more plastic into an already too plasticky world.

all your feedback is genuinely appreciated, and take it from me, we're working on improving the azor daily.

thanks, will king

Hey been using the Azor razor for just over a week now,
previously the mach 3 was the only other razor i'd used.

I know this is a shaving forum, in which case most people are more serious about getting the closest and best quality shave possible.

I just joined to post this as i'm more of a casual shaver, I'll go through a tiny bit more effort (i have a cheap brush and some nice cream) but spending much longer with a double edged razor is too far for me when I can get a perfect shave by my own standards with a disposable.

I'd guess for the most part the market for the azor is people who want a quick/good shave by normal standards. I'm 19 and most of my friends who use disposables wouldn't bother with going as far as getting a brush or out of their way to get a upper quality cream, but would definately change razor if they knew something better/cheaper was available, especially with some different products if they are easily available (eg boots and not a specialist shaving website).

So far i'd say that the Azor blade is alot better than than the mach 3. You can't even feel your hairs being cut on your cheeks in comparison to the mach 3. I think the weight/quality construction of the handle is no issue to me and is fine. So far the blade has lasted longer than a mach 3 in terms of sharpness and i'm very impressed.

Now i think everything is perfect about the razor except for my one large gripe, the handles design.

Its fine for going with the grain down on your cheek area etc. but much more difficult than the mach 3 to go upwards on your neck due to the fact the blade doesnt tilt like the mach 3.

Going against the grain is very hard in comparison however, like i usually shave upwards under my nose after going downwards. with the mach 3 i can do this easily with design of the handle. The azor top part is bigger and because it doesnt tilt i can't get into the smaller areas.

It'll still take some time to get used to the handle, i think the azor is precisely what i need it gives me a much better shave with less hassle and more smoothness. Just PLEASE try redesigning the handle to allow shaving under the neck/ under the nose easier.

Shaved last night before going off to bed using Proraso preshave and Castle & Forbes Lavender shaving cream. Once again a DFS (Damn Fine Shave) using 3 pass WTG, XTG, ATG with no weepers, nicks or cuts. I am getting used to how light it feels. As far as looks, I like the Azor, it's very simple, elegant not over-designed and doesn't come in an over-packaged clamshell that seems to test the limits of one's patience as well as filling up the planet with more useless plastic. An advantage over the big 2 would be a cartridge recycling program through KoS, i.e. send us your cartridges we'll send you a coupon for half off your next purchase of a 4 or 8 cartridge pack - just thinking out loud. Nontheless pretty good for day 2.

THECHEBB said:

An advantage over the big 2 would be a cartridge recycling program through KoS, i.e. send us your cartridges we'll send you a coupon for half off your next purchase of a 4 or 8 cartridge pack - just thinking out loud. Nontheless pretty good for day 2.

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That's pretty snazzy of them to do. I'd hate to be the person(s) receiving these messy, jammed with skin/hair cartridges though.

I supposedly have one of these on the way, I'm excited to give my 2c in this thread.

we're (genuinely) looking at the recycling (handle & cartridges) angle. it's a bit challenging given A) blades are (correction) Azor sharp, B)used and C) need to be got to a recycling facility but it's something we have top of mind (take a look at http://www.shave.com/environment we are also looking at using precycled plastic (ie already recycled plastic) for the handle, but this comes with myriad issues, mainly to do with QC. we are listening. keep the comments coming.

King of Shaves said:

we're (geniuinely) looking at the recycling (handle & cartridges) angle. it's a bit challenging given A) blades are razor sharp, B)used.

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Isn't that "blades are AZOR sharp"?

XTG, ATG - BTW ILYJ (by the way i love your jargon)

Mindflux said:

That's pretty snazzy of them to do. I'd hate to be the person(s) receiving these messy, jammed with skin/hair cartridges though.

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Yeah I think that would be pretty bad, though I think if you ask the users to rinse them, that might help. I like that they are willing to listen, don't remember Gillette or Schick asking our opinion..."Yeah can you guys add another blade as I feel 16 just isn't enough"

It would be pretty cool if KoS cartridges include a little plastic pre-paid sleeve like some of my inkjet inks come in. Once you use 4 cartridges plop them in their little plastic holder, put in a mailer (after filling out the return address) and send it back. Now of course the DE route is the easiest, plop used blades in a blade bank, once filled, close & recycle...can't beat that, but hey at least KoS is listening, and for that they get my props.

Mindflux said:

Isn't that "blades are AZOR sharp"?

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King of Shaves said:

hi chris. thanks for your comments.

i'm saddened you feel it is 'cheap' as actually the materials being used are pretty sophisticated, designed to last for a very long time, and unlike our (overmoulded) competitors this is manufactured in a completely different way, and for reasons that will become clear as our marketing strategy unfolds. metal is good for DE razors as there is a satisfaction of use. we are a bit more 'space age light' though. this notwithstanding, we are looking at a 'heavier' version, but as more expensive to manufacture, with more energy and serving same purpose, is nowhere near as elegant.

re ergonomics, we spent years on this, and the overall feedback from regular users is 'different...and better, actually'.

re grip, i've shaved with the development azor thru to production azors with my shaving oil for 2 years now, and it's not slipped away. there are also (amazingly) patents around grips, so this area not quite as straightforward as it might appear...

shave quality - well, it's a multiblader, so we're happy with a sensor/M3 comparison, i think it's better than fusion as 'too many blades'.

re cover/travel, we're working on this, but not at the expense of putting more plastic into an already too plasticky world.

all your feedback is genuinely appreciated, and take it from me, we're working on improving the azor daily.

thanks, will king

Click to expand...

Will:

I'm going to be as blunt as possible, I found your post rather off-putting.

Basically, I'm going out of my way to provide constructive feedback on your product and you have responded negatively to any critcial comments.

In response to my comments about the "cheap" feel of the razor, you went on at about how great the materials are. You may be using space-age materials, but your razor feels like a toothbrush - and an inexpensive one at that.

When I said my initial impression of the ergonomics wasn't that great, you attempted to negate my views by saying that regular users think its better than other razors they've tried. Believe me, I've tried just about everything on the market and use cartridge razors regularly as I travel quite a bit for work - so I've got a decent frame of reference. In my view the angle of the head in relation to the angle makes getting into some places tricky, as well as when making against or across the grain passes. Also, the handle is quite thin - especially where it tapers towards the end, which makes getting a good grip more difficult.

In response to my comments about the handle being slippery when combined with your shave oil, you again minimized my experiences by saying that you don't find it slippery - the implication being that I'm somehow deficient/my experience isn't relevant since you're the expert. Well, the white part of the handle gets slippery - shave oil + smooth plastic = slippery, there's no getting around it. I hold my razor towards the end where there is none of the grippy black stuff - did it slip out of my hand and across the bathroom, no, but it WAS slippery and I did have to adjust my grip to make sure it didn't.

Travel cover - you can talk about too much plastic and how you're trying to minimize global warming/save the whales, etc - the fact of the matter is that, unless I have some sort of blade cover I can't travel with a loaded razor. A reusable blade/head cover included with the handle would do the trick - that could be made out of recycled plastic and would be reusable - functional and warming to the cockles of the hearts of enviromentalists everywhere.

Now the one thing I think you've done a decent job of is the blades - I suspect I'll get about 10 decent shaves from a cartridge, which is pretty good. However, you have to do something about the size of the cartridge - especially how much space there is between the top of the cartride and the top blade - it makes it difficult to trim one's sideburns and its well neigh impossible to shave the bit right under the nose - I have repeatedly nicked myself in the same place as a result of having to make multiple passes/use odd angles to get these bits. Also, the plastic on the sides of the cartridge is also a little thick, so similar issues here as well. FWIW, while the Fusion and Quatro also have cartridges that are bigger than I like, the top blade is closer to the top of the cartridge, so less issues in this regard.

Overall, I think the shave is pretty decent - its a cartridge, but its comparable to the shaves I get with my Quattro or Fusion - a bit less irritating than the Fusion - especially the first couple of shaves. I still like the Sensor better and think that the Sensor is the best cartridge razor out there. As I said before, the shave isn't as close as I get with a DE and it doesn't last as long - but that's no different than any other cartridge razor.

Onto your products - I'm still in the preliminary testing phase, but my initial reactions are that your products work reasonably well. Not as well as a good soap or cream, but on par or better than the mass market stuff. Also, given how little you use, for folks who like them, your products are good value.

I like the shave gel better than the oil, but I'm not a fan of oils generally - they tend to clog up the razor and leave a residue over everything. The gel I found could dry up a bit during a pass, so needed some rehydration. This morning I mixed a small amount (1/2 pump) of the oil with the gel and found this to be a good combination.

The face wash is fine - basically the same as face washes in the same price range generally. I'm not sure why you suggest washing my face again after I've gotten out of the shower and just washed it with a quality soap - other than to sell more face wash. As far as I can tell, it makes absolutely no difference to the shave.

Some final initial comments on the KOS products generally - they have lots of chemicals and colouring that I generally don't like to see in my shaving products (but no more than other equivalent products), however, they do have some good stuff in them as well. The smell of the products I've used is medicinal/chemically - so no great olfactory experience, but not offensive either. While the KOS products work, they are clearly mass market (nothing wrong with that) and aren't luxurious in any way - they work, but I don't get the same sense of indulgence I get from even a relatively inexpensive cream or soap.

Last, if you want constructive comments from folks here, you need to listen and not minimize/belittle the experiences of others. If you can't do this, then there's really no point in you being here. All I can say is that the members of B&B represent a wide spectrum of wetshavers - but one thing we generally have in common is that we have pretty high expectations of the products we use and are quite willing to say what we do/don't like.

Suzuki said:

Will:

I'm going to be as blunt as possible, I found your post rather off-putting.

Basically, I'm going out of my way to provide constructive feedback on your product and you have responded negatively to any critcial comments.

In response to my comments about the "cheap" feel of the razor, you went on at about how great the materials are. You may be using space-age materials, but your razor feels like a toothbrush - and an inexpensive one at that.

When I said my initial impression of the ergonomics wasn't that great, you attempted to negate my views by saying that regular users think its better than other razors they've tried. Believe me, I've tried just about everything on the market and use cartridge razors regularly as I travel quite a bit for work - so I've got a decent frame of reference. In my view the angle of the head in relation to the angle makes getting into some places tricky, as well as when making against or across the grain passes. Also, the handle is quite thin - especially where it tapers towards the end, which makes getting a good grip more difficult.

In response to my comments about the handle being slippery when combined with your shave oil, you again minimized my experiences by saying that you don't find it slippery - the implication being that I'm somehow deficient/my experience isn't relevant since you're the expert. Well, the white part of the handle gets slippery - shave oil + smooth plastic = slippery, there's no getting around it. I hold my razor towards the end where there is none of the grippy black stuff - did it slip out of my hand and across the bathroom, no, but it WAS slippery and I did have to adjust my grip to make sure it didn't.

Travel cover - you can talk about too much plastic and how you're trying to minimize global warming/save the whales, etc - the fact of the matter is that, unless I have some sort of blade cover I can't travel with a loaded razor. A reusable blade/head cover included with the handle would do the trick - that could be made out of recycled plastic and would be reusable - functional and warming to the cockles of the hearts of enviromentalists everywhere.

Now the one thing I think you've done a decent job of is the blades - I suspect I'll get about 10 decent shaves from a cartridge, which is pretty good. However, you have to do something about the size of the cartridge - especially how much space there is between the top of the cartride and the top blade - it makes it difficult to trim one's sideburns and its well neigh impossible to shave the bit right under the nose - I have repeatedly nicked myself in the same place as a result of having to make multiple passes/use odd angles to get these bits. Also, the plastic on the sides of the cartridge is also a little thick, so similar issues here as well. FWIW, while the Fusion and Quatro also have cartridges that are bigger than I like, the top blade is closer to the top of the cartridge, so less issues in this regard.

Overall, I think the shave is pretty decent - its a cartridge, but its comparable to the shaves I get with my Quattro or Fusion - a bit less irritating than the Fusion - especially the first couple of shaves. I still like the Sensor better and think that the Sensor is the best cartridge razor out there. As I said before, the shave isn't as close as I get with a DE and it doesn't last as long - but that's no different than any other cartridge razor.

Onto your products - I'm still in the preliminary testing phase, but my initial reactions are that your products work reasonably well. Not as well as a good soap or cream, but on par or better than the mass market stuff. Also, given how little you use, for folks who like them, your products are good value.

I like the shave gel better than the oil, but I'm not a fan of oils generally - they tend to clog up the razor and leave a residue over everything. The gel I found could dry up a bit during a pass, so needed some rehydration. This morning I mixed a small amount (1/2 pump) of the oil with the gel and found this to be a good combination.

The face wash is fine - basically the same as face washes in the same price range generally. I'm not sure why you suggest washing my face again after I've gotten out of the shower and just washed it with a quality soap - other than to sell more face wash. As far as I can tell, it makes absolutely no difference to the shave.

Some final initial comments on the KOS products generally - they have lots of chemicals and colouring that I generally don't like to see in my shaving products (but no more than other equivalent products), however, they do have some good stuff in them as well. The smell of the products I've used is medicinal/chemically - so no great olfactory experience, but not offensive either. While the KOS products work, they are clearly mass market (nothing wrong with that) and aren't luxurious in any way - they work, but I don't get the same sense of indulgence I get from even a relatively inexpensive cream or soap.

Last, if you want constructive comments from folks here, you need to listen and not minimize/belittle the experiences of others. If you can't do this, then there's really no point in you being here. All I can say is that the members of B&B represent a wide spectrum of wetshavers - but one thing we generally have in common is that we have pretty high expectations of the products we use and are quite willing to say what we do/don't like.

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Suzuki, I agree with much of what you say re KOS reply to your post however I feel that KOS deserves a lot of credit for actually coming on this forum & standing behind his product enough to offer freebies to a community which largely is looking for an alternative to cartridge razors (something the "big 2" don't seem to do), just my £0.02.