The High Proof razor recently finished its Kickstarter funding project and has started shipping. Is this razor that uses a pivoting head and half of a double edge razor blade for you? I bought one to put through its paces.
Background
From the High Proof website:
“The High Proof Razor Company was started by David Ellig and Andy Auble. Both founders live in Montana and run their own busisnesses outside of the High Proof Razor Company.
Check out Hondo Garage and GlueTread to see what they do when they aren’t working on Razors.
David designed this razor in 2020 and has been perfecting it ever since. David was tired of low quality razors that were made overseas and left him with ingrown hairs and skin irritation so he decided to make his own. Several months ago, David and Andy decided to work together to bring this product to market and that is exactly waht they are doing now!
All Montana Razor Company products are made from machined aluminium, right here in Bozeman, Montana.
Try it free, forever
There is no gimmick here… if at any point you aren’t happy with your razor, send it back and we’ll reimburse your purchase…no catch.
- Made in the USA
- Pivoting Head
- Magnetic Resistance
- Quick Load-Unload
- Aircraft Grade Aluminium
- Unconditional Lifetime Warranty
- Long-term affordability”
Specs
- Weight: 21 grams
- Length: 11 cm (head 2cm)
- CNC Machined
- Anodized 6061 aircraft grade aluminum
- Strongest available neodymium N52 magnets
Kickstarter
From the High Proof Razor Kickstarter page:
“David was tired of buying cheap, plastic razors that caused him irritation, so he started looking into reusable, well made options.
After using double edged safety razors for a while he wanted something quicker and easier to shave with. During his search he found that all the options he could find were poorly engineered, made overseas, and required specialized blades. Understandably frustrated, David began designing the High Proof Razor.
Three years (and many quick, trouble free shaves) later, David completed his project and is now ready to make it available to the world!”
What Others Are Saying About The High Proof Razor
The High Proof razor is very new so there are just a few reviews out there, mostly from Youtube influencers who received pre-launch samples from the Kickstarter:
My Experience With The High Proof Razor
[Note: I purchased a High Proof razor and requested it prior to packaging being available so I could write this review in a timely fashion. My opinions expressed here are my own and have not been reviewed or approved by High Proof.]
Presentation
As I just mentioned I received a High Proof razor without the planned packaging (by my own request). But here are some images of the packaging now being used:
The package comes with the razor, a magnetic razor holder, and blades (mine were US-made Personna blades).
Weight/Balance
This is a very lightweight razor (21 grams with blade on my digital kitchen scale), lighter than my preference. On the other hand I think the razor is balanced well and while the handle design is a little unusual I do not experience any problems holding and shaving with it.
Blade Loading
Since a half DE blade is quite small it can be a challenge to load into any razor in that format. The High Proof razor uses a magnet to help load and place the blade into the head correctly (much like the Leaf razor). I find blade loading to be reasonably un-fussy under the circumstances, though attention still needs to be paid or a nick to your finger could result.
Shaving With The High Proof Razor
I have found shaving with the High Proof razor to feel very much like shaving with a mass-market multi-blade cartridge razor…sans the extra blades. And the ability to use my favorite DE blade gives it a flexibility not found in cartridge razors with their “walled gardens.” There is about the same kind of feedback (auditory and tactile), too. With the right blade “for me” the razor just glides along the skin without the focus required with fixed-head razors.
I do find the width of the razor’s head to be a bit wide and it can make shaving detail areas like under my nose a bit less effortless than other parts of my face, but it is not a huge issue for me.
Very broadly I would suggest the “aggressiveness” or “efficiency” of the High Proof razor is about middle-of-the-road. Of course the ability to choose your own blade gives it huge flexibility here, too. Want a little more “oomph” to the shave? Pop in a high performance blade like a Feather.
I tend to push down on the razor given its light weight. Luckily the pivot can help at least partially compensate for that shortfall. I think the unique, innovative magnetically-governed pivot deserves more attention that it gets: frankly I think it’s a genius of an idea. No spring to weaken, break, or replace. I assume this would give the razor longer life as well.
Elephant In The Room
The High Proof razor is not the only razor that uses a single blade on a pivot. I recently wrote about the Focus Dynamic R48 razor, and then there is the Leaf razor that can be loaded with one, two, or three blades.
I find the High Proof razor easier to load and use than the Focus razor, and lighter and more “nimble” than the Leaf with one bladed loaded.
There is also the condition of the company to consider. Obviously High Proof is new to the market and while they easily got their initial funding through their Kickstarter campaign, continued funding will be required to keep the business going. Remember the BROMAN razor?
OneBlade
And then there’s the OneBlade razor. It’s no secret that I really like OneBlade razors, particularly the all-stainless-steel Genesis (affiliate link) model. It is difficult for me not to compare the two.
Of course the OneBlade is much more blade-limiting than the High Proof: using the Feather FHS in the OneBlade vs. using just about any brand DE blade snapped-in-half for the High Proof is a huge benefit of the High Proof razor.
On the one hand I find the OneBlade’s FHS blade works particularly well for me on the most difficult parts of my beard.
One the other hand the High Proof’s aggressiveness is probably better suited to more shavers, some of whom find OneBlade too “mild.”
Summing Up
At the moment my two concerns regarding the High Proof are the lightweight aluminum materials used and the relatively high cost of the razor (compared to similar razors). Speaking of price and availability, I’m told that there is a 3-week lead time on High Proof razors right now. They will keep the price at US $99 for all pre-orders but will likely raise that to US $130 once inventory is built up.
But I think the High Proof razor represents an interesting “hybrid” niche in wet shaving: a shave very much like a mass-market cartridge razor, but using one half DE blade.
Detlef Küch says
ich habe den Rasierer jetzt seit 4-5 Wochen. Ich bin absolut begeistert von der Rasur. Ich verwende überwiegend Volkshot Rasierklingen. Die Funktionen bei mir am besten . Sie bescheren mir eine sehr saubere und glatte Rasur, ohne Hautreizung. Auch sind sie sehr langlebig.
Einen kleinen Kritikpunkt hätte ich doch noch. Er könnte etwas schwerer sein. Meine bisherige Rasierhobel wiegen zwischen 80-140 g da ist 21 g ungewohnt leicht.
Grüße aus Deutschland 🇩🇪
CrazyChemist says
Wenn Du in einem englischsprachigen Forum schreibst, wäre Englisch vielleicht eine gute Sprache. So verstehen dich die Wenigsten.
CrazyChemist says
I am on the fence about this one. I love the OneBlade Hybrid that I have, but I hate the cost of the blades.
I am about convenience, so having to snap your blades in half sounds like I am not cut out for that (yes, I went for the obvious pun)
So I guess I will take a plunge and worst case: I have to return it when I don’t get along with it?
pete says
I agree about the high cost of the proprietary OneBlade blades.
It’s actually very easy to snap DE blades in half and takes only a second or two – but you have to do it with the wrapper on.
You can buy half DE blades, but there doesn’t seem to be much as it’s so easy and cheaper to do it yourself.
And unlike the OneBlade hybrid, you can choose whatever DE blade works best for you.
I use Nacets, as they are sharp and (for me) smooth.
The High Proof in my experience is also the easiest and quickest razor for loading blades.
I hope this helps.
CrazyChemist says
The question is more, can I justify spending money on yet another razor?
I guess for now I have to use up all the blades I have. 😉 I still have Defender cartridges (inexpensive, work great for the dome), a ton of OneBlade blades (best, but quite expensive shave) and a few Supply SE injector blades (this did not really work for me, but I am too cheap to throw them out)
Pete says
I’m with you on the not throwing out blades. Waste not, want not, as they say.
The High Proof is very expensive.
On the other hand, DE blades are very cheap, so over the medium term the extra cost of the High Proof is outweighed by the saving on blades.
I buy Nacet blades in packs of 100, which cost £7.80 plus postage, which works out at 8 pence per blade (or 1 pence including postage).
For comparison, a pack of 4 Gillette Sensitive Guard cartridge blades costs £13 (£3.25 per cartridge).
If my math is correct, I can get 41 Nacet blades for the price of one cartridge a bid saving.
That said, buying any new razor is a gamble.
If you can borrow someone else’s High Proof that would take away the gamble.
Pete says
Many thanks for this excellent review of the High Proof razor.
I’ve ordered one and am looking forward to trying it out.
It mainly interests me as a head shaver, though I will also see what it’s like for shaving my beard.
The OneBlade razor doesn’t work for me because I find the FHS Feather blade too harsh. It’s such a pity it’s possible to use only one blade with it, not least because the razor itself is very nice.
Paul says
I like this one more than the OneBlade, but maybe it’s because OneBlade has become TOO big? I dunno.