Men’s 5 Blade Razor Review – The Latest Entry to the Shaving Club Model is a Worthy Contender
These days, it seems shaving clubs and subscription services are popping up everywhere. If you’re into this sort of thing, you’ve probably already read my reviews of Dollar Shave Club and Harry’s. Gillette is even jumping on the bandwagon offering a subscription service for “About $1 per week*” (there is always an asterisk it seems). Well, the latest subscription service to come along is 800razors.com.
Huh? 800? I assume you can call an 800 number and place an order, but who does that anymore? Dated company name aside, the razors are actually very good, and at about $2.00 per blade, they are reasonably priced.
I got my hands on the 800razors.com blandly named 5 Blade Men’s Razor… wait. Stop.
Who is responsible for branding for this company? The razor is pretty good. It deserves a name better than 5 Blade Men’s Razor. Yawn! But, I digress. So, as I mentioned, the razor is actually pretty good — better than most I’ve tried. I will also go so far as to say that it gives me as good a shave as my trusty Gillette Fusion ProGlide.
First, the handle (while not as handsome as the Harry’s Truman) is a fairly sleek looking device (less cheesy than the Gillette or Dollar Shave Club offerings). The handle itself was nicely weighted and felt good in the hand. The cartridges were a slight pain to get on and off, but I got the hang of it pretty fast.
What about the shave, you ask? Well, it was quite good.
The razor cartridges are a petty common design. Same flappy paintbrush style head pioneered by Gillette and adopted by most everyone else. There is also the little rubber fin thingy that is supposed to lift the beard and, of course, the “lubricating strip” with aloe and vitamin E and all that stuff that is supposed to give you better glide.
I’m still not sure why they put the lubricating strip on all of these razors above the blades — it seems like they would want the lubrication to come before the blades scrape over your skin. Again, I digress.
The 5 Blade Men’s Razor did indeed provide a close, comfortable shave which was on par with the Gillette Fusion (and better, in my opinion than Harry’s or Dollar Shave Club). The head is also large enough, and the blades are far enough apart to allow easy rinsing. The floating motion of the cartridge wasn’t as smooth as some of the other razors I’ve tried, but that’s a minor gripe. Like the Gillette Fusion series and the Dollar Shave Club Executive, there is a trimmer blade on the backside of the cartridge which makes edging the sideburns and getting up under the nose a bit easier. This blade was just okay (not as good as the Fusion version), but it got the job done.
The handle and blades are available exclusively online at 800razors.com. You can purchase blades in 12 or 24 packs and select how frequently you would like them shipped. It should be noted they also offer a creatively named Men’s 3 Blade Razor as well. A buddy of mine has been using that razor for a few months and is very pleased with the results so far.
800razors.com does not offer any shaving products, but I recommend using a great shaving cream like Duke Cannon or Dreadnought to compliment this capable razor. Of course, you’ll want to always use proper shaving technique to ensure you’re getting the best shave possible.
The bottom line? If you’re looking for a capable razor and a price that compares favorably to the other razor subscription type services, the Men’s 5 Blade Razor from 800shaving.com is a great option.