I occasionally trawl Amazon for new or unusual razors. I saw a single edge safety razor that uses barber blades, the “MYITKHT” razor, and it reminded me of the long-gone “Cobra” razors. My interest piqued, I decided to try it and in the process discovered something that might give the aggressive Muhle R41 a run for its money.
My Experience With The MYITKHT Razor
[Note: Amazon links are affiliate.]
Great googly-moogly, the MYITKHT razor is a monster, in more ways than one.
This is a large, heavy, aggressive razor, and IMHO not for the beginner.
My first shaves with one of the included blades had to proceed very carefully: there is a ton of blade exposure with both blade holders and I found it generally much too aggressive for my taste (admittedly, I prefer mild razors). So aggressive that I switched to another razor after the first pass. I would say this razor shaves at a 9+ on a 1-10 scale. Water and lather flow-through is good.
Thinking the aggressiveness may have been at least partly related to the no-name blades included with the razor, I switched blades, trying both a Kai Captain Protouch Mild MG “mild” blade and a Feather Artist Club Professional blade. I could actually get a second pass in with the Kai with the “smooth” module (see below) if I was very focused and mindful of my shave. The Feather AC was a no-go for me.
The “blade holder” (base plate) comes in two versions: a ‘smooth’ version with a roller-style skin guard (similar to the Wangssolid Adjustable Razor I wrote about a while back), “suitable for daily shaving” and a ‘toothed’ version for “deep shaving” (?). You get both holder modules with the razor. Inserting a barber blade in either module is actually reasonably straight-forward: you open the razor head with a downward flick of the thumb, mount the blade, then close the module with an upward flick of the thumb. Blade holders are held in place with a strong magnet so it shouldn’t pop off mid-shave.
Popping off the module makes rinsing and cleaning easy.
Beyond blade holders and blades, there’s this razor’s sheer size. Easily the heaviest safety razor I’ve tried, at about 5 ounces (142 grams), with a balance I found a bit cumbersome (I generally like razors weighted toward the head but the MYITKHT’s bulk made the balance somewhat extreme for me). Handle grip security is OK for me but the texturing is only on one side of the razor’s 4.75 inch (120 mm) handle. I would have preferred a fully-knurled handle.
Using this razor drew comparisons to the Muhle R41 for me. Insanely aggressive.
Background
Aggressiveness aside, I actually find this to be a reasonably well-built razor for the price. And speaking of price, there are two tiers: the package I bought, which had the razor, the two razor holder modules, a waterproof silicon case, and 20 blades. Then there is a lower-cost tier with with the razor, the two razor holder modules, a leather case, 10 blades, and a selection of razor colors.
From the Amazon sales page:
“Magnetic safety razor is made of high-strength zinc alloy, which is strong, durable, scratch-resistant and not easy to break, and can be used for a long time. The all-metal design not only shows a tough and retro appearance style, but also has excellent corrosion resistance and rust resistance, and can remain as new even if used in a humid environment for a long time.”
Summing Up
The MYITKHZ razor is an interesting (unique?) safety razor design, with a combination of elements and a very aggressive shave that might be attractive to wet shavers who look for things like that. It’s not for me but if you like to “turn it up to 11” for a price that won’t break the bank it is certainly worth a look.
