Weber razors - anyone used one?

Nick the Knife

Nick the Knife

Krill Enabler
Grand Society
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Location
Coffs Harbour, NSW
Gents,

Just trawling and came across references to a razor I'd never heard of....a Weber razor.

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Turns out they've been around for a while and generated enough buzz that most folks here prolly would have caught wind of them....haha naive ole me. ;-) But anyway they seem similar to the well known maker of newer high end DE's, Ikon.

The key difference being Weber's USP is that they have two different types of special coatings that they apply to some of their razor's heads (apparently DLC and ARC)...reports on them seem very positive with some gushing remarks coming from what I'd read. The head design is almost identical to Merkur's 34c, with excellent reports on the quality of the handle (plus some very nice replacement handles available).

To counter this they seem to have MAJOR supply problems (out of stock at present) and also some quality control issues with the head coatings. Also some very unusual corrosion problems being reported by some folks....which considering they're using a marine grade SS is very odd.

The interesting thing is they're very aggressively priced at around $70.....which when you compare it to other boutique made SS razors (Ikon, Feather, Pils) screams BARGAIN.

Anyway might be one to keep an eye out for, was news to me anyway.

Cheers, Nick :)
 
I've seen folk on /r/wicked_edge over on Reddit raving about these in the past. But I have unsubscribed from that subreddit so hadn't read about the quality control issues.
 
Read quite lot about them. Seem to be big, on and off, on the British razor site. I thought about getting one, but right now I'm into this straight razor thing. Been looking for a preowned one. Would buy a used one, if one came up at a good price. but right now they don't seem to be offered.
 
Ok well for those interested in these razors there's some interesting news....

1. They're back in stock (have been since 15NOV according to a post on their own Twitter account)! So if you're after one act fast as they tend to sell out very quickly and take a long time to restock.

2. They're no-longer offering the coated heads (DLC/ARC) these got very mixed reviews and apparently some QC issues had caused them major headaches...hence their current stocks of razors are offered only with hand polished SS heads.

Oh and FWIW I just couldn't resist (I've always wanted a SS razor) so just ordered one. From what I've read the Bulldog handle is highly recommended over the Classic, which many feel is too long. Apparently the Bulldog is very similar to the highly rated one that iKon makes. The Wave one looked a lil questionable to me, looks funky but high chance it'd be a PITA to use.

If you read a lot of reviews on these you'll find a repeated feedback that these are incredibly good value (the next cheapest SS razor is around DOUBLE these in price) and that people feel its almost certain the price on these will significantly increase very soon. $USD77 delivered....as mentioned, even if you doubled this you'd struggle to find another SS razor for that price.

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Ouch, tough crowd haha I thought a bespoke SS razor for $70 might illicit some kind of feedback but c'est la vie.

True to form all the Weber razors are SOLD OUT once again. Fast sellers (apparently their last 4 product releases have sold out within ~48-72hrs)

A lil eye candy just as a teaser....

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Nick the Knife said:
Ouch, tough crowd haha I thought a bespoke SS razor for $70 might illicit some kind of feedback but c'est la vie.
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Sorry, I was dealing with a client system outage last night.

Nice razor, although my experience with most of these high-end handles is that they are quite mild - the Feather AS is known to be about the equivalent of a fat handled Tech, whic in itself is about the equivalent of slapping yourself with a wet trout.

I prefer something more aggressive so I would wait and see some feedback from users that are in a similar taste of mine before putting up the cash.

Truth be told, the iKON with one side closed comb and the other side Open Comb is much more interesting to me, although it is double the price.
 
Razormonsta said:
Sorry, I was dealing with a client system outage last night.

Nice razor, although my experience with most of these high-end handles is that they are quite mild - the Feather AS is known to be about the equivalent of a fat handled Tech, whic in itself is about the equivalent of slapping yourself with a wet trout.

I prefer something more aggressive so I would wait and see some feedback from users that are in a similar taste of mine before putting up the cash.

Truth be told, the iKON with one side closed comb and the other side Open Comb is much more interesting to me, although it is double the price.
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Oh gawd no apologies needed, was more thinking out aloud as they're quite a distinctive product due to their aggressive pricing...which is reflected by another quick sellout.

I concur on the mildness that many say these types of razors often have. That said I'm sure you're aware that a super simple and essentially foolproof way to make any razor more 'aggressive' is to make a simple shim out of an old clipped blade thus increasing the 'blade gap'. Pretty foolproof and might be easier to find a razor that ticks all the other boxes and then adjust to your desired level rather than waiting for something made to your spec to come out. Just an idea anyway, that said springing for an iKon or Titan might be a more desirable solution....but as you pointed out yourself they're 2-3x the Weber's price, so like comparing a Merkur 34c with a Weishi in terms of price multiples anyway. :)

That combo OC-SR by iKon is novel but unless you're shaving longer hairs or have very random direction hair I think you'd be using the SR side 95%+ of the time. They do a LOT better job for facial hair than OC's, which excel at different things. I'd reckon anyone considering dropping ~$150 on a DE would have an OC or two already and hence I'd find reaching for that for the 5% of shaving tasks a lil more effective. Novel design indeed and very eye catching but I do wonder if the function lives up to the concept in real everyday usage. That all said $150 is way too much for me to ever be able to justify on a non-investment razor.

Gareth recently got a Titan, which from what I've read sound very good shavers and on the aggressive side of the median as well......they're ~$185+. Worth 2.5 Webers? Dunno....folks on YKW say the finish quality on the iKon/Titan is better on the head but the handles are just as good as each other. Shaving feedback tends to say they're MUM, but very good feedback on all of them.
 
Okay finally the Weber arrived (ordered on 19NOV).

Really nicely packed.....first impression was HEFTY, makes the Merkur 37c feel like a cheap dimestore trinket! The knurling on the handle is fantastic...far more aggressive than anything else I have and it's a really significant and aggressive little thing in terms of it's compact chunkiness.....naing it the Bulldog handle is very appropriate.

The quality of finish on it is excellent - I'd read a lot of people bitching about having minor blemishes and scratches on theirs and this is really just shows their ignorance to the challenges of polishing quality stainless steel vs Nickel plating! I swear these people have seen the finish on Edwin Jagger razors etc and think that Stainless steel should be the same finish! Completely different....so yes in a few VERY MINOR spots they could have polished a tiny bit more but honestly you'd have to be a clown to have issues with this. The finish on the head is superb and the way they've varied the finish in different sections of the razor from highly polished to a rough matte surface looks great.

I'm a bit OCD so I gave it a complete once over with a high quality automotive polymer wax - just as an extra layer of protection. Will try and use it later today.

Honestly, when you see it and then realise that it's ~$70, you'll be kicking yourself that you didn't get one......its an amazing bit of quality engineering for such a very low amount (iKon, Feather SS's are 2.5-3x this in price!).

Interestingly I sent an email to Ed Weber, the owner yesterday just saying it hadn't arrived and he stated that they'd sent "quite a lot" of them to Australians....so perhaps there's another few Weber owners lurking out there!

Fabulous looking razor anyway....I'd pop pix up but honestly it looks IDENTICAL to the pix I posted earlier in the NOV thread &/or the Weber thread in the 'razors' section plus I'd not be able to take as nicely as these. Will bring to SYD for folks to inspect. :)
 
Don't want to double up too much but had a great first shave - very aggressive blade gap ensured a really close shave was given. The handle is a dream to hold, lather everywhere still won't even flirt with bringing on a slip.

Very smooth - don't know how much of am improvement the coated heads gave but the polished one is slippy as can be. No worries about coatings ever coming off either.

Lovely feel in the hand, great even blade exposure......I've also heard folks complain that there's too much 'play' in the head's screw when you first put it in. Seriously are these people desperate for something to whine about? Yes, it's a little that way but it does up super tight with not even a smidgen of wiggle (which you'd expect) so that there's a little play when you do the first 1/3 of the screw I don't know what really this means/changes for users. I think folks just like to find something to complain about.

Really nice shave, don't think the Feather allowed it to really shine will try with something a lil more docile but still very sharp next e.g PSS, Polsilver.
 
Hmmm, sounds interesting.

If only it had a Gillette logo there somewhere ...
 
Nick, good write up about this razor.
In your close-up pic the head looked really similar to that of the Edwin Jagger, specifically like the DE86 that SYD now owns.

Have you used an EJ, and is there any truth to the statement that they look very similar?
 
JugV2 said:
Nick, good write up about this razor.
In your close-up pic the head looked really similar to that of the Edwin Jagger, specifically like the DE86 that SYD now owns.

Have you used an EJ, and is there any truth to the statement that they look very similar?
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Thanks Jug. Yes, it does look a little similar to the EJ - which to be honest is a HUGE compliment to Weber on the quality of their finish as its VERY hard to get stainless steel to a highly polished state - the EJ of course just being a nickel coating. But whilst I've not used or seen an EJ in person I think the heads do look similar in design.

That said the blade gap on the Weber didn't look 'mild' to me and I hear the EJ's are quite demure. Your best bet would be to google some images but I think the blade gap on the Weber is going to be the difference between them with the rest of the head design very similar.
 
Nice review Nick, that's a classy looking razor. Considering how long it should last, it seems money well spent. I want one, but I think I might dabble in straights next.
 
Here's a couple of blade gap pix - forgive the soap residue - in the last one it's compared to a Gillette Red Tip, you'll hopefully be able to see that the Weber has quite a larger gap than the RT, which is a quite aggressive shaver itself!

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It's a nice looking Razor Nick. Like 34C with 'roid rage. I'd be interested if it weren't so 34C like.

Not sure the gap is any bigger than a 34C, but then there seems to be more than that at work with regards aggression.
 
Drubbing said:
It's a nice looking Razor Nick. Like 34C with 'roid rage. I'd be interested if it weren't so 34C like.

Not sure the gap is any bigger than a 34C, but then there seems to be more than that at work with regards aggression.
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Yes, it's a beaut. Well see how you go, at this guys prices it's a steal - I think I checked Weber's online shop every day or so for 3 months to get this, well worth the wait IMHO. Honestly I used to really like the feel of my 37c but now it feels like a very cheap and inferior quality toy after handling the Weber. That might sound an exaggeration but if you picture the tactile upgrade you FEEL when you go from something like a Weishi to a Merkur thats what this is like again going from the Merkur up.

Don't get me wrong the 34c is the 34c (on a sidenote I used to have one of these but sold it in a huff when it didn't meet my expectations - which was in REALITY ME BEING INEXPERIENCED & IMPATIENT).....but like I said if I was in the market for a new razor and I'm thinking ok - 34c is atleast $45-50 delivered - and these are ~$75 delivered. Thats a no-brainer.

FWIW I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I will predict these will soon be selling 2nd hand above their current new prices - as the low retail price can't last and they're SO HARD to access, demand massively outstripping supply. Simple economics, prices of anything available goes up.

Oh you're 100% right, blade gap is only part of the factors that make up the 'aggression' of any razor. The heft and knurling are just so much nicer to use than I expected - will be interesting to try it out with a bunch of blades and see what it likes/ doesn't like.
 
This is a great razor - everybody should buy one.
 
What a pity the AUD has just bombed against the Greenback this month...
 
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