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| Manion M5 Adjustable DE Safety Razor |
The Manion M5 is a Chinese manufactured double edge adjustable safety razor that is modeled closely to the Merkur Futur adjustable.
I purchased the Manion M5 razor from Amazon in December 2018. It arrived a four days later in my mailbox via USPS in a padded plastic envelope and was packaged neatly within a product box that also contained a 5-pack of Dorco ST-300 platinum double-edge blades and a small double-ended brush for cleaning, one side having short stiffer bristles, the other longer and softer bristles. The M5 arrived in new condition with no needed oil or grease applied to preserve razor.
All scores are rated 1 through 5.
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| Manion M5 Adj, 1965 Gillette Slim Adj, Weishi Butterfly |
BUILD QUALITY (score 4): The M5 that I received is well built. It razor has but two separate parts; the primary body with twist-to-adjust handle and the removable top-cap that both aligns and holds double-edge blades in place. The finish I would describe as smooth matte aluminum-tone. The adjustment numbers on the handle are slightly engraved into the metal, filled with an egg shell white filler paint. Manufacturing tolerance of my M5 is good to excellent. Both the cap and body fit together neatly and firmly with very little loose-play. The cap is held in-place with two cap-prongs that are then snapped into the two spring-retaining sockets on the handle's blade deck. Adjustment rotation works fluently and is tension-sustained by a spring seated within the handle itself. Upon one of my blade support members (the smooth edge just below and parallel to an inserted blade itself) is a
very slight particle embedded under the razor's electroplated finish. It's barely noticeable and does not affect the M5's functionality whatsoever. The razor has a nice weight to it that is heavier than other safety razors pictured here, but not hefty or unwieldy in any way.
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| Manion M5 safety razor deck |
FUNCTIONALITY (score 3): I've shaved with the Manion M5 many times since receiving it in the mail. As a man with average thickness hair who routinely shaves bald and maintains a smooth face (aside from a short-cropped Van Dyke beard), I spend a respectable amount of time with a razor in my hand. For me, the M5 shaves great on a setting of 3.5 to 4 on both my scalp and face with very little to no skin irritation. I do not use
Dorco ST-300 blades (those that came with the M5) as I find them too mild and of lesser quality. I generally use
Astra Superior Platinum DE blades as my everyday blade, occasionally switching to milder
Derby Extra DE blades when my skin sensitivity may be higher on a given day, such as drier skin during winter weather.
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| Manion M5 safety razor cap |
That being said,
I do hold two minor exceptions with my M5's shave experience. One is that the handle can be feel a little slick when shower shaving with soapy hands. I'v heard some owners use
Plasti Dip to increase handling properties. Second, when seating a blade into the razor, the cutting power sometimes favors one side of the blade more than the other,
but only ever-so-slightly. I've found it helpful to first set the razor's adjustment to setting 6, remove the razor cap from the razor deck, safely dispose of the old blade, tilt the razor deck 45 degrees to one side, place the new blade onto the deck, give the handle a couple soft finger taps to align the blade on the deck evenly, and then snap the razor cap gently back onto the razor deck to secure the blade. I will then adjust the razor from setting 6 to 1, then back to my nominal setting of 2.5. This typical sets both blade edges with nearly equal cutting exposure. If one blade side is still favored ever-so-slightly, gently wiggly the razor cap ends side-to-side(in opposing directions) and re-adjust the razor settings from 6-to-1, or 1-to-6, and then back to your preferred setting. Overall, I think you'll find that the M5 performs well when you master placing new blades into the razor itself.
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| Manion M5 w/ blade, top view. |
VALUE (score 5): The value of the M5 is excellent when considering it's build quality and cost of purchase. At the time of this review, the price was $17.99 with around $5.00 in shipping cost through Amazon. The Manion M5 is very nearly the same razor as the
Merkur Futur razor, which at the time of this review was listed at $62.50. The Manion M5 seems to replicate performance nearly identically to the Futur. Though I mentioned earlier in this review a
very slight electroplate finish blemish along a blade support member, it's not enough to diminish my opinion of the overall cost value of the Manion M5. For the price, it's an excellent addition to your every day shaving supplies and worthy of it's current online pricing.
OVERALL (score 4): The Manion M5 has become a large part of my weekly razor rotation. My favorite safety razor is my 1965 Gillette Slim adjustable, which performs incredibly well at settings 3 thru 4 using Astra Superior Platinums. But, the Manion M5 performs almost as adept and smoothly as my Gillette does, much to my surprise. And since the M5 is such a great value, and my Gillette is a vintage razor that I'm hoping to keep well-preserved, I tend to use the M5 safety razor much more often. I give the Manion M5 a solid thumbs-up and find it to be a fine shaving product overall.
73,
Patrick, K3NYJ
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