When is a double edge razor not a double edge razor? When it’s a Hanni razor.
Background
After many years of coaxing and cajoling I finally convinced Mrs. Mantic59 to try a double edge (DE) razor. But since her eyesight and coordination leave a little to be desired when it comes to shaving she said she wanted a large, heavyweight razor for easier grip and use.
I approached the request from a research perspective and did some search engine queries. One of the first things I found was the Hanni razor. From the Hanni website (lack of capitalization is intentional):
“the hanni weighted razor is designed to glide along the curves of your body, removing hair and dead skin — leaving you with nothing but a soft, smooth glow.
- plastic-free: the entire razor is 100% metal.
- powder-coated: won’t rust when wet.
- extra-long handle: 5″ handle designed for body shaving.
- finger grooves: keep your grip, even with wet hands.
- cap curve: the razor head’s curve is specially angled to fit underarms.
- great for sensitive spots like the pubic area.
- risk free: try your hanni razor risk free for 90 days.
try our shave set to get everything you need to start your hanni experience….
hanni hint: we’re not like other safety razors. with us, there’s no pressure, literally. our weighted design lets the razor do the work, giving you the closest shave. pair it with the shave pillow for extra hydration and the convenience of shower-free shaving.
*please note – only hanni’s proprietary Swedish stainless steel blades are compatible with the hanni weighted razor.”
From the pictures on the site it sure looked like a “regular” double edge razor. And that last comment from the webpage, “only hanni’s proprietary Swedish stainless steel blades are compatible with the hanni weighted razor,” seemed kind of crazy to me: surely…surely…this used regular DE blades.
So in the spirit of research for my wife I busted out the Sharpologist corporate credit card and bought a Hanni razor and set of blades (even though, surely, I wouldn’t need them).
The Hanni Razor
The razor arrived in short order and I gave it a quick first inspection. I couldn’t find any specs on the website or with the razor but my “kitchen table” measurements say the handle is about 4.75 inches long (about 5.5 inches total) with a weight of about 105 grams (~3.7 oz.). That definitely falls into the “heavyweight” category in my book.
The whole thing looks to be pretty thickly powder-coated and well-built. It’s a twist-to-open (TTO) “butterfly” razor head for easy blade changing. The handle is not heavily etched with deep diagonal or diamond-shaped knurling but the combination of the lined handle and the powder coating gives it a pretty secure hold in the hand.
The head and included blades sure looked like a standard double edge design at first glance….
Mrs. Mantic59’s Shave Experience With The Hanni Razor
For Mrs. Mantic59’s inaugural run with a non-cartridge razor I popped a Hanni blade into the Hanni razor and had her give it a go when she took a bath.
And, with a bit of coaching and encouragement from me, she was pretty successful at shaving her legs and underarms with the Hanni razor! The razor’s size definitely made her feel a little more confident.
Her next shave with the Hanni razor was even a little better. She wasn’t quite “won over” to a non-pivoting safety razor yet but was safely past her reluctance and concerns about it.
So, like any old school wet shaver who knew blades were a very “your mileage may vary” thing (where some brands work better than others) I suggested we try another brand of blade that might work better for her. So I popped out the Hanni blade and popped in another brand of DE blade…
…and it didn’t fit.
When Is A DE Not A DE?
What the heck is going on? The Hanni blades sure look like any other DE blade to the casual observer. But matching them up side-by-side I could see that while the outside shape looks the same the inside cut-outs look just a bit different.
Similarly, the TTO head of the Hanni razor has a center post that is larger in diameter to match the Hanni blade but is too big for a “standard” DE blade.
This called for a little more investigation.
As it turns out the Hanni double edge blade is sort of compatible with some double edge razors. If the razor uses a bar in the head (many TTO razors for example) the Hanni blade will fit–though with its wider inner cut-out I suspect the razor would need to “clamp” the blade pretty securely to avoid blade movement.
If the razor uses a head with pins (many three-piece razors) the Hanni blade will not fit.
But–as the Hanni documentation clearly states–only a Hanni blade will fit a Hanni razor.
Summing Up
Using a double edge blade that is cut just enough to make it compatible with only one razor strikes me as just…well…strange. I mean, the whole idea of using a double edge razor blade these days is to avoid proprietary designs. But as a single blade razor targeted to women the Hanni razor worked well for my wife.
What do you think of the Hanni razor? Leave a comment below.
I’d recommend the High Proof razor, which is great for body shaving (& for head shaving, though that won’t apply to your wife).
Less good (though not bad) for face shaving.
at least the Segal blade works in standard de razors.
I guess Hanni doesn’t understand the human inclination to experiment. or is that a guy thing?
The Leaf is a great razor for women and uses standard 1/2 DE blades — 1, 2, or 3 of them. It’s my wife’s favorite although I load it for her as it is a bit fiddly. I find the Hanni ridiculous.
Mrs. Mantic59 trying the Leaf is her next experiment!
My wife also very much likes the Broman although these are hard to get. The one I bought for her is the older model that has a small piece of plastic on the head but I’ve heard they’ve relaunched it with an all metal design. It’s got a slightly shorter handle, is lighter, and uses only one blade. It is a very mild face-shaver as well even with a Nacet 1/2 blade. You might want to tract down either the older one or a new one. Ours was ordered from the UK but was shipped from and presumably made in Portugal.
Might want to have her try the Leaf Twig as well. The SE head is compact enough for good precision work in tough spots (under the nose and some neck areas), but it shaves like a champ, and I didn’t think it would knock down five days of growth in two passes but it did. The shave angle is slightly different from the Supply razor but it’s easy to find the correct position. Love the magnetic assist blade load too. Leaf’s blades give a great shave but it’s also nice to be able to snap one of my Personnas in half and use that. Proprietary blades just seem silly since everyone’s growth and skin type are different.
Good idea, thanks.
Can you us a hole punch on “standard” DE blades to open them up enough to work in the Hanni? Might be worth some experimentation. -Rick D
Interesting idea! I’ll give that a try….
I agree, bummer that it does not use standard blades. However, this is just like Gillette did. Going from three-hole to slotted blade and the slits diamonds etc, and the Goodwills. So, it’s the blades we want you to buy!
I agree with the author that the most significant advantage of using a DE razor is finding the perfect blade. Even after finding it, it’s still fun to check out other blades or switch them around for different needs at the time. For example, sometimes I want a really close shave but when I don’t need that, I usually opt for a more comfortable blade. At the very least, if Hanni insisted on strolling down the proprietary blade route, they should’ve made it an adjustable razor.
Hanni’s approach hearkens back to the early days of DE razors when each manufacturer exercised ingenuity to make sure that competitors’ blades would not fit his razor while making sure his blades would fit their razors— thus the peculiar shape of the cut-out in modern DE blades (except for the Hanni).