One Blade vs Henson AL13 ?

[alohakid]

Recent WSJ recommends the AL13 .
We Tested Six Expensive Men’s Razors. One Stood Out. - https://www.wsj.com/style/beauty/we-tested-six-expensive-mens-razors-one-stood-out-c6f8de7?mod=style_feat3_beauty_pos2

I'm satisfied with my One Blade (except for cost of blades) and Feather ASD2 .
How does the Henson AL13 compare ?
And which AL13 , Mild or Medium , if I decide to try ?

 

[Island]

I found it worse than the two you already have. It does the job fairly well (not bbs) but is not fun to use.

 

[deafficianado]

Get the Henson +++. It provides a close and comfortable shave easily. It’s so good that I bought a backup. My vote would go to the Oneblade if it were it was designed to use DE blades instead of the proprietory FHS blades or modified Gems. If you want a nice modern pivoting razor, I’d recommend the highproof.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I really hated the OneBlade proprietary blades, they only gave 1 good shave, the second was bad. That ends up being more expensive than carts! I'd highly recommend trying the Henson medium, they offer a 100 day money back guarantee. Pair it with a sharp blade and I think you'll really like it. I do!

 

[Island]

I should mention, I've only tried the mild aluminum Henson. It felt scratchy but safe and didn't give me a satisfyingly close shave. The feather as-d2 is great but finicky. You need just the right angle for a good result. I'm in the group that doesn't apply pressure but razor angle for efficiency is pretty narrow. The one blade genesis delivers an effortless shave but I never got a good shave if I tried to reuse the expensive feather blades. It is a work of art and has wonderful steel but I wonder how long the swivel mechanism will last.

 

[StewB]

I haven't tried it, but I am wondering if the High Proof razor might work well for you.

 

[Corndogg428]

Recent WSJ recommends the AL13 .
We Tested Six Expensive Men’s Razors. One Stood Out. - https://www.wsj.com/style/beauty/we-tested-six-expensive-mens-razors-one-stood-out-c6f8de7?mod=style_feat3_beauty_pos2

I'm satisfied with my One Blade (except for cost of blades) and Feather ASD2 .
How does the Henson AL13 compare ?
And which AL13 , Mild or Medium , if I decide to try ?

+1 vote for the henson. Best shave I’ve ever had. I have the mild and find it very efficient and smooth.

 

[gpjoe]

I found it worse than the two you already have...

Yep, that was my impression. I prefer the ASD2 by tons.

I had the Henson AL13+ and sold it pretty quickly. It worked but I found that I prefer more traditional razor geometry. I also owned a Winning razor with a similar blocky head (which like the Henson, "helps" you find the optimal shaving angle) and quickly sold that as well.

...but that's just me.

Last comment I'll add:

I didn't read the linked article but suspect the audience is likely men coming off Gillette (Harry's, Schick, etc) cartridges or disposable razors. In that case the Henson isn't a terrible choice, though if pressed I probably would recommend something else.

 

[mikhou]

I have a Henson Mild and love it, but I have an affinity for mild razor and sharp blades. I also love my pre- (not post-) war Gillette Tech and the Baili BD176.

 

[awk_m4]

Consistently excellent daily shaves are what I demand. The Henson delivers. I’ve tried to like many of the more traditional looking DE’s. None of them delivered consistently so they’ve either been shelved or PIF’ed.

The author of that article and I are aligned:

“But for me, neither of those options come close to the Henson AL 13 ($70), the last safety razor I tried. Sleek and light, this ruthlessly efficient model rivaled Leaf’s in delivering the smoothest, most-consistent results—with minimal fuss. I’m afraid it has ruined drugstore razors for me forever.”

Consistent Excellence = Ruthless Efficiency.

 

[awk_m4]

BTW I've been using Henson razors almost exclusively since October 14, 2021. A daily shaver, I keep detailed stats.
Henson Usage through 09/17/23

Total shave with Henson Razors: 655
Detailed breakdown by model:

Henson AL13 + = 167
Henson AL13 ++ = 83
Henson AL13 +++ = 217

Henson Ti22 + = 158
Henson Ti22 +++ = 30

 

[AJMiami]

In my experience, the one blade shaves better, but the Henson makes a lot more sense as is a lot more practical for frequent use.
My experience with the Henson is on the ++ aluminum, and have used the oneblade stainless for years

 

[Island]

The one blade genesis is a work of art but very expensive both to buy and to use. The feather blades it requires (unless you do a self modification of a gem) are overpriced and dull quickly.

I found it shaved better than the Henson but there are many DE razors that shave just as well and are cheaper to buy and to use.

 

[Omega48]

I like mild razors. I have the Feather AD-D2 which I liked and the Oneblade Genesis which was my preferred razor (in fact I have two Genesis and two Core) and that was my daily razor. I have practically not touch them since I purchased my first Henson AL13 (mild) in July.
Recently I have switched to a “AL-Ti” (mild), Henson AL13 handle + Ti22 head.
That is all I use, in spite of still having a ton of FHS blades for the Oneblade Genesis in my drawer.

I shave every day.