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How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

businessinsider.com

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Re: How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

#21

Post by zaroth »

juliangregorian wrote: post #15

Since I've got sensitive skin, I've been happily using a beard trimmer to "shave" my face down to a fine stubble for years. Can't see what additional benefit perfectly smooth face skin would buy me. It doesn't even last a full day.

I'll second this. If you can get away with a bit of stubble this is faster, easier, and way cheaper than shaving. A decent trimmer is cheaper than an 8-pack of the "latest-gen" cartridges. And to JG's point, no blades ever contact your skin.

As a bonus, you don't need to find those silly miniature cans of shaving gel just to get through security with your shaving kit when traveling. It just would be nice if they took power from a USB-C cable though.

Coworkers might not even notice if you miss a day.

Re: How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

#23

Post by venomsnake »

tekgo wrote: post #13
cmbaus wrote: post #2

What kind of blades does the company make? Are they multi-blade? Harry's is a great idea, but I've been happy with double edge razors for a while now: http://baus.net/shave-kit

5 blades with a lotion strip similar to other multi-blade razors. They're sold in 4 packs with their main selling point being that they are half the price of gillette razors while being the of similar quality with a much nicer/weightier handle.

It is hard for something to be of lower quality than Gillette.

Disposable razors just don't shave well.

Re: How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

#25

Post by crdb »

tacticus wrote: post #18
nostromo wrote: post #14

Pro tip: just get an old fashioned safety razor. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003LW4L2W/ It will last longer than you do and gives you a perfect shave. A box of 100 blades will last for years and will cost you almost nothing. All disposable razors, including Harry's, are overpriced.

The annoying thing with these is flying :( they are prohibited from carry on.

As a frequent flyer, here's my 2 cents:

- transport it bladeless, put it at the top of your bag. In Asia and Europe it gets asked about 1 out of 5 times. You can then take it out, and apart in 10 seconds.

- stock up blades at your frequent destinations (in my case, both in-laws and family have 3 packs of Feathers in a closet).

- if all else fails, buy blades locally - a 5-pack is still cheaper ($2-5) than a Gillette ($10) and can be found in most decent sized supermarkets all over the world. Won't be feathers, but enough for a week.

- if you are somewhere with no blades, which is rare, then there's always the throwaway option. In many countries (e.g. Japan) even the cheaper hotels include a throwaway razor. Otherwise you can buy it at the 7/11 with the toothpaste that you also couldn't carry-on. Some prefer the electric option.

- buy soap rather than cream so you can carry-on. E.g. Tabac Original screw soap. One will last you for years.

Re: How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

#26

Post by ChrisGranger »

JesperRavn wrote: post #17
nostromo wrote: post #14

Pro tip: just get an old fashioned safety razor. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003LW4L2W/ It will last longer than you do and gives you a perfect shave. A box of 100 blades will last for years and will cost you almost nothing. All disposable razors, including Harry's, are overpriced.

I'm happy to pay extra for a razor that gives a close shave without cuts or skin irritation, and that doesn't require extensive training to use.

If you can use a disposable razor, you can use a double-edged safety razor. You absolutely don't need "extensive training" to shave with one of these.

Re: How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

#27

Post by crdb »

blinkingled wrote: post #5
jessaustin wrote: post #3

It's cool what they're doing with vertical integration, but this whole product category seems silly to me. I can see why a 15yo who has never shaved before would buy these. Once one has shaved for some time, however, what's the problem with the good old-fashioned safety razor? I'm currently on a box of 100 blades (conveniently subpackaged into packets of 5), and it cost me $10 on Amazon. How do Gillette and the rest…

I have long pondered using old fashioned blades - but the ones I used in my time were all very much inferior to Gillette or Harrys which is what I am using right now ( they are cheaper, are good quality and last far longer than Gillette btw.). If you don't mind answering - what blades/razor combo you're using and are there any downsides (ex. easy to cut yourself, shave quality etc.) that you choose to live with?

I've tried probably a dozen brands. Counter-intuitively, I found that the sharpest were the ones least likely to cut, because you apply so little pressure (and maybe because they notch the hair immediately, instead of sliding down to the skin). Feathers are easily the best at least in my experience, beating even the "premium" offerings from Gillette and Wilkinson and making it easily worth the (rather large) premium; not only are they sharp but they stay sharp almost forever - I've occasionally had several weeks' use on a single Feather.

I cut myself all the time with the cheap no-name Israeli blades (rebranded Personna?), so called it a false economy. Not impressed with Astra either. YMMV - softer hair doesn't require as much cutting.

Re: How Harry's Bought a German Razor Factory

#28

Post by discardorama »

I tried Harry's when they first started. I was excited at the prospect of ditching Gillette. For some reason, I get nicks and cuts when I shave with a safety razor (the last time I tried). I do shave after showering, to keep the hair soft.

But Harry's just didn't cut it (no pun intended). I got many more nicks and cuts with Harry's than I did with Gillette. Plus, their shaving cream gummed up the razor, and cleaning was a pain. So after a few days, I had to go back to Gillette, and Harry's is sitting in the corner somewhere. Maybe it's their 5-blade monster; I don't know.

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