Review: Razors Direct

It was with trepidation that I first ordered from Razors Direct, but I can report it was a good experience: http://www.razorsdirect.com/
I bought Personna Twin II (non-pivot) cartridges, 50 for $22.99. They came quickly and I found them to be serviceable blades. The cost, $23/50 = $0.46 per cartridge is very appealing compared to the price for Gillette Trac II: $15/10 = $1.50 per cartridge.

I was peeved when Gillette raised their price. Gillette is slightly better, but I can make a Personna Twin II work for a week. It is not a great shave after a week, but it's good enough. Also at Razors Direct is another razor, Marquee Twin Blade, $13.99 for 60. The per-unit rate is $14/60 = 0.23 each. The Marquee blades do not, in my opinion, last an entire week, but if you change them after 3 or 4 days, then the real cost is the same: $0.46 per week for shaving. So I would say that the Marquee blades are a fair price.

The best blade is one you can get at Wal-Mart. The Wilkinson Sword Super II Plus sells for $3.54 for 10 cartridges, which is $0.35 per week and beats the $0.46 per week cost of the Personna Twin II. However, you have to drive to Wal-Mart, stand in line to buy them, and sometimes they are sold out.

One issue with the Wilkinson Sword cartridge is that you need a razor that is within specifications. My old razor was thinner at the ends than at the middle, which made it easy to slip the cartridges onto the razor. However, the Wilkinson cartridges have no material to grip the razor in the middle. All the gripping material is at the ends, where my old razor was thin. I actually bought a brand new razor to use with the Wilkinson blades.

I bought the Col. Ichabod Conk Gold Tone Double Track Handle for $12.99 and it works fine with the Wilkinson blades. When my son turned old enough to start shaving, I bought a Col. Ichabod Conk Double Track Handle for him and taught him the lesson of buying economically priced blades.

It is a matter of economics. When patents expire after 20 years, the product becomes a commodity item that is available from multiple sources at low prices. Just because Gillette comes out with razors that have 3 or 4 or 5 blades is no reason to buy them.

I will admit I have a friend who prefers the 3 bladed Gillette cartridge because he finds it gives a smoother shave.

Now I save one dollar per week because I spend $0.46 instead of $1.50 per week. That is $52 per year I save while shaving. That might not sound like much, but I am going to send that money to a charity and encourage you to save money and send the savings to a charity. If enough people do this, then it might make a difference for the charities.

Robert

I have posted a follow-up review:
http://robertcanrightsblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/more-on-razors.html
Four years after this post and I am still ordering razors from Razors Direct. -- 7/25/2015