(This post was last modified: 11-09-2015, 10:40 PM by Len.)
Well Bruce, on another forum that you frequent there are nearly 30 pages of positive reviews by dozens of users, in case you wish to remind yourself...
As to gimmicks, not at all... a pivoting head works, and allows forgiveness in technique... which means in the end less cuts and slip ups. This is unique in a single edge razor. Leather case? Simply quality. Some people prefer cheap plastic, polyester jackets while I prefer leather. Propitiatory blades? They are made by Feather, not by OneBlade, and can be bought more cheaply at Connaught's. This was the same blade style as the original 'proprietary' Valet Auto Strop used. Now, some people, many years ago may have thought that Valet making their own blade with a built in auto stropper was 'gimmicky' as well. But as we look back over the years we see it was actually unique, innovative, and new... kind of like the OneBlade is today!
I thought one particular comment on Mark's post was very telling of some of the psychology surrounding the negativity among certain shave forums. Some people have a hard time with innovation and change... and the cost associated with such:
"While the price of the OneBlade is high, I’ve watched in amusement for years as individuals get started in wet shaving to save money, then get sucked into the hobby. If you’re looking for a good, cheap shave something simple like a Schick Krona does the trick. Most don’t stop there, though. They buy and show off “rare” Fatboys and Toggles and Diplomats and Single Rings and Presidents and before you know it they’ve got many,many hundreds of dollars invested in razors, the majority of which sit on a shelf where they can admire them. And end up with some unhappy spouses. If that’s what you like, good for you. The more afflicted buy Eclipses and wax eloquently about the beauty and shaves of their Darwin Deluxes and their Kirby’s and Leresche’s. And don’t forget the the “special” 1912 GEM Damaskeene. (Open combs are better). Better shave than a Krona to justify the price? Really? Questionable. So really, who’s kidding who? 300.00 for a single razor, while a lot more than you need to spend to get a great shave, isn’t that much more that Kirby and a Eclipse (a Kirby just went for around 200.00 today on an auction site – the going price if you want one and a lot of people evidently want one) and significantly less than a Darwin or a early double ring or some of the Toggles. Or one of the “rare” rhodium British Aristocrats, which while shiny and pretty there seems to be an endless supply of. Ditto the FatBoys and Toggles.
It’s true that there are many more double edge blades than single edge blades, but blade availability/choice is a problem for any single edge razor, even those that use the industrial-grade GEM single edge blades exclusively (and love them). The Mongoose and the Cobra both use a proprietary blade, although Kai does make a similar blade. Both of these razors have long waiting lists. However, the grousing and hostility towards this razor because of it’s blade and resemblance to a cartridge system is surprising and suggests something else might be going on other than just general grumpiness and constipation ( the resemblance to a cartridge system is not surprising when you considering how it was designed and it’s target audience) . My hypothesis (and it’s only mine) is the world of DE/SE shaving is sort of a safe little community where we can all pretend it’s still 1950-60 out there. The OneBlade is something from the modern era of shaving, it’s different and it makes some of us a little uncomfortable because it’s invading our turf. Sure, there are the new stainless DE’s but those look like DE’s – you know, like a real razor (grandpa’s) should look. The OneBlade looks like a cartridge system – and cartridge systems are modern, bad, irregardless of whether they give you a good shave or not. And it’s all about the shave, right – or is it?
Blade cost isn’t the issue some make it out to be. There’s a vendor in Britain who charges quite a lot less for the Feather blades if you buy in bulk. Around 30 c a blade, if my memory is correct. With free shipping I think on orders over around 90.00. You can find out who if you check the shaving forums or Google for it. So if you like the razor and don’t mind buying a bunch of blades at once, the blade costs go down. And you’ll have blades for years, even if they’re no longer produced…
I don’t own one and probably won’t buy one. I’m happy with the shaves I’m getting with my current setup and am looking to get rid of razors, not audition new ones. Although the OneBlade is tempting….If anyone has one they don’t like and they’d like to trade, I’m sure I’ve got a Kirby or President or Single Ring or shiny British Aristocrat sitting around I might consider trading ? No Toggles or Double Rings, though, I never went down that rabbit hole.."
