The folks who brought you the Leaf razor, that uses snapped-in-half DE blades on a pivoting head, have just announced a crowdfunding campaign for their newest razor, the Twig.
The Twig Razor
From the crowdfunding page:
“The Twig takes the premise of a classic safety razor and makes it accessible for regular people like you and me. With fewer features and a simpler mechanism than The Leaf razor, we’re able to welcome people into shaving plastic-free at a more accessible price. It stands wonderfully on it’s own -or- as a companion to The Leaf for the ultimate shave experience.
“We designed The Twig from the ground up to be the easiest-to-use, most precise and maneuverable fixed-head shave.”
The Razor Head
The Twig uses an innovative blade-loading mechanism that I think makes swapping out a half DE blade a lot easier than other razors that use a half DE blade. And the head is really small (half the size of a regular double edge razor) and can get into tight spots (like under the nose) a lot easier:
“One of the things we felt was important for The Twig was to make sure the design stayed in a single piece for loading. There’s no need to handle separate pieces when loading a blade, simply twist to open, place your blade, and twist to close.
“In the original prototype design the twist simply lifted the top of the razor. Feedback from our testers led us to this final design that has a unique cam-mechanism inside the razor that both lifts AND twists the top out of the way. It’s so easy to access the blade anytime you need to load it, swap it or clean it.”
Full disclosure: I was one of the testers for the prototype design of this razor, so I’ve actually seen what they’re up to…and it’s really interesting.
“The Twig has notches that mate with the sides of your blade, and a magnetic plate at the bottom helps hold the blade in place when loading and un-loading the blade.”
Now, this wasn’t a part of the prototype I tried but I think it’s a fantastic idea! A DE blade snapped in half can be a challenge for the fumble-fingerd (like me) and when combined with their unique blade-loading mechanism could make handling blades a non-issue.
The Handle
The handle is a bit goofy-looking to me but after having used it I can see where they’re coming from:
“One thing we know about handle design is that no two people are the same! We had folks that loved a thinner handle; and folks that yearned for a thicker handle. Something longer / something shorter. Something heavier, something lighter.
“So we offer a unique handle design for The Twig with tapered ergonomics. The thinner neck allows your fingers to close for precision and control up top. A thicker bottom fits perfectly in your palm — while also providing additional grip surface area when reaching to far-away places. The mid-handle and bottom fins are cut deep into the mold for a confident grip in-hand.”
The Shave
Leaf angled the Twig’s head at 30 degrees for a more natural grip (similar to other single edge razors. My shaves with the prototype razor have been somewhat mild–perhaps at the high end of what I consider mild or the low end of what I consider middle-of-the-road. Given their use-case that’s a good thing:
“The Twig has been designed to be specifically excellent for shaving intimate areas. Not only for its precision, and for its ability to get in tight spots; not only because it’s tuned for safety and comfort, but also because it’s a single-edge razor and not a double-edge razor.”
Conclusion
Leaf’s new Twig razor could be a sea-change for the single edge razor crowd, with a design that I think pretty effectively addresses the issue of dealing with half DE blades and providing a head design that would be great for detail areas in addition to “regular” shaving.
Their crowdfunding campaign is off to a fantastic start. Visit the page to learn more!
If the reason to purchase this new razor is the ability to shave under the nose or in other “hard to reach areas” then the simplest solution is to purchase a Gillette with cartridges having the trimmer….lasts for months and does a great job of shaving areas that are otherwise a bit of a challenge.
Why would I want to buy and use this item, when I have about 10 Schick Injector razors of various aggressions, that are highly maneuverable and are superb shavers? Injector blades outlast a DE blade by a very long time.
Will it be made in America? We need more innovative American razors. Any word on what the retail price may be? Is the razor to be primarily marketed to women, as a leg shaver and so forth? My impression is most women prefer disposable razors.
Thanx for sharing. I wish the manufacturer well.
I can’t figure out why they want their users to go through the always dicey process to break a DE blade in half when there already great super sharp single edged blades out on the market from Feather and Kai that come in a very safe injector cartridge. Their well thought out loading mechanism is superior to any of the 5 SE razors that I have in my den.
You don’t have to snap a DE in half, there are ‘pre-snapped’ blades you can get pretty easily.
Does it pivot?
This Twig does not have a pivot.
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