In my post about how I was upgrading from foil to blades for head shaving, I mentioned I had just ordered a Henson AL13 aluminium safety razor, and that I would write about it soon. In this post I will reflect on my first impressions and initial experiences.
The Henson AL13 is a nice piece of kit. Beautifully engineered in aircraft aluminium, lightweight in the hand, with a long handle that’s easy to hold, and a head that features a built-in 30 degree fixed blade angle, a design Henson claims makes the transition from cartridges easier for those new to shaving with DE razors.
This design feature sold the AL13 to me, as I have cut my head too many times in the past when attempting to shave with my old Murdock DE razor. I can confirm it is effective, and I find it much easier to keep the blade at the right angle when shaving. It’s not totally infallible, and I have nicked myself a few times when I’ve been careless or tried to go too quickly, but on the whole it feels like a much easier shaving experience.
Instead of duplicating info here, I recommend a visit to the AL13 page on the Henson website, which details the standards and specifications to which this razor has been made. I bought the Mild version.
Head Shaving with Derby Extra Blades
I hear so many bad reviews of the Derby Extra blades, and I agree they are nowhere near as smooth as something like a Gillette Mach3 when it comes to head shaving, nor do they result in the coveted BBS finish. However, I do find them useable, and decided to try these in the AL13 before any others, as I’m already familiar with them.
With a Derby Extra in the Henson AL13, I can get a reasonably good result if I take my time and do three passes of my head: with-the-grain (WTG), followed by across-the-grain (XTG), and finally against-the-grain (ATG). I could probably skip the first step and go straight to XTG, but diving straight into ATG involves a lot of tugging, and therefore an increased risk of nicks.
I can get two or three shaves from a single Derby Extra blade, although the effectiveness of the third shave is noticeably reduced, requiring an additional clean-up pass and some irritation.
Henson Branded RK Stainless Blades for Head Shaving
I’ve read good reviews of RK Stainless blades, and had very high hopes for the little five pack that shipped with the Henson AL13. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed with these Henson-branded RK Stainless blades. I found them to be completely ineffective, and even after three passes and a clean-up pass I couldn’t get a finish as good as what I would get if I took my time with a rotary shaver such as the Remington RX5. Furthermore, each blade was useless after just one shave, and had to be discarded.
A quick sift through Reddit revealed there is indeed a difference between regular RK Stainless blades and the Henson-branded ones. Everyone on the threads I read described the same disappointing experience. Henson should address this and ship the razor with a higher-end pack of blades. I’m sure they would be able to reduce their return rate by doing so.
Sample Packs
After trying Derby Extras and the Henson-branded RK Stainless blades, I decided the way forward for me is to try various other blades in the AL13, and give each brand a fair trial before either discounting it or adopting it for my daily head shave.
After some research, I ordered several sample packs from various online suppliers, and this is the collection I’ll be working my way through over the next few months.
Some of these blades are very highly rated by the online shaving community, and I’m hoping I can find a blade I really like amongst this lot. I’m searching for a blade that can consistently deliver several smooth shaving experiences resulting in an irritation-free BBS finish without doing too many passes.
If I don’t find anything better, I’ll be sticking with the Derby Extras.
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