Different Artesian same head/handles

Incidentally, this is a very common practice across everything from technology [Google Accton for examples of white box HW] to breakfast bars.

I remember when I heard from friends about how so many brands of whiskey come from the same factory in Indiana. While the Templeton Rye claims were certainly misleading, all of those whiskies still tasted exactly the same to me as they did before I knew that piece of information.

Kevin and Len both have valid points, I tend to be of Len's perspective on this. Arguably nothing effects the shave more than the head of the razor other than technique of course. That being said, when people enter wet shaving if they choose to make this a hobby in addition to a mere purposeful task, as arguably all of us on this forum have (otherwise why would we pontificate here) then inevitably, people are going to go nuts for the first year and buy and buy and buy Like I did and many of us did. Looking back, I probably should have researched things in the early days before buying items as I now do, but I didn't. I assumed (we all know what assumptions make us) that if I was bought Company A's razor it was their razor. What I didn't suspect is that it would be the same razor head as company B's and C's and D's. Even many of the handles are identical. I understand why companies/sellers do this, if they don't offer a razor and another seller does, they are losing potential revenue to a competitor. HOWEVER, they should be honest and disclaim that they are all selling the same razor; because they are. At least with the big boys (Merkur, Fattip, Ikon, etc) you get a DIFFERENT razor and vastly different shaving experience. With these vendors, they are all pawning off their razors as different when they indeed are not. To me, that's dishonest. They should all disclaim these are outsourced heads from India designed in the fashion of EDJ. Newbies to the hobby or wet shaving don't know any better and the business practice isn't ethical in my view. As with all things, "if i only knew then what I know now" I'd be $200.00 richer and a bit smarter....

The problem is, Brand "X" doesn't exist. The razors are coming from manufacturers in Pakistan with the intent to be private branded.

I'd agree that a comment like "The head is based on the Merkur design." would be appropriate, but that claim may not be legal to officially make.

Does the plant or business in Pakistan have a name? Does the designer that drew up the specs that ripped off Merkur have a name? If so, that is the name of "Brand X".

Or do these shave vendors do business deals, sending money to nameless, faceless creatures in dark alleyways? At least the street hustler in the ghetto pushing his knockoff Rolexes has a face and a name! Sorry, but the street hustler is more transparent than these shave vendors, cause with them you actually know what you're buying.

Take it easy steeleshaves... Don't point your anger over getting ripped off at me (never called you cheap, either). That's nobody's fault but your own, for your own lack of due diligence. Am sorry it happened though... But the fact is, that this is a risk with cheaper gear, however much you'd like to hide from the fact.

Consider it an object lesson for yourself. And it is certainly appreciated that you share this information to others that might also be unaware.

The more information we have about cheap knockoffs, the better!

Being a clone does not make it a "cheap knock off", and purchasing a less expensive clone does not mean someone is "hiding" from some fact you think should be well known. I think it is those off-hand insults that get under people's skin. You have basically told everyone to either buy a multiple hundred dollar razor or expect to be ripped off, and that is not even remotely the case.

For example...my $6 Maggard V3 head outperforms my $50 Merkur 37c in terms of both closeness and smoothness of shave. Obviously, YMMV, however, it is clear that your blanket statement of being "ripped off" by "cheap knockoffs" is simply not appropriate to the conversation as it is absolutely false in it's very premise.

As regards the actual topic of discussion, I think it would be unfair of any of us to expect small vendors and artisans to manufacture their own hardware in house. It's easy to assume they source and rebrand for these purposes, especially at the price points they are providing. Vendors provide quality, affordable razors at budget prices for budget-conscious shavers. There's is nothing wrong with that. It is up to us, as consumers, to research what we are buying if we don;t want to end up with duplicate razors from different vendors.

Think about it logically...the basic design of the DE razor has changed very little in the last 100 years. Seriously, we can't expect everyone that sells "beginner razors" to have a unique product offering at an introductory price point. That's just illogical.

Does the plant or business in Pakistan have a name? Does the designer that drew up the specs that ripped off Merkur have a name? If so, that is the name of "Brand X".

Or do these shave vendors do business deals, sending money to nameless, faceless creatures in dark alleyways? At least the street hustler in the ghetto pushing his knockoff Rolexes has a face and a name! Sorry, but the street hustler is more transparent than these shave vendors, cause with them you actually know what you're buying.

You don't seem to like "affordable". Is there a reason that everything less than $100 is considered a rip off by you?

Just curious, because frankly, Wolfman ripped off Gillette and Merkur when he made his open combs.

Price does not mean original. There are very few truly original designs in the world of razors. The differences are in decoration and materials, and yes, quality control that can SOMETIMES be afforded by small manufacturers making one-off products. Are those differences worth premium pricepoints? Yes, I'm sure they are.

But that doesn't relegate everything else to the status of "cheap knockoff"...

Len believes if it's not the OneBlade, it's crap that's all. And you'll never convince him otherwise.

BadDad great points. I get it, Mr. Len is a OneBlade fan and everything else is garbage or beneath OneBlade. OneBlade is a great product, but by no means means better than some other razors I own, including some old school.

Oh I forgot, he is on my ignore list for that same reason. Can't have a good conversation with a one track minded person.

Len believes if it's not the OneBlade, it's crap that's all. And you'll never convince him otherwise.

I wish I can give you five likes

my opinion has always been: use whatever works best for you, whether it's a $1,000 razor or a $2 antique shop find.