High Proof Razor Review – Another Shot In The “Cartridge Killer” War?

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.