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| Occam's DE Safety Razor |
I purchased the complete Occam's Double Edge (DE) Safety Razor in December 2019. The razor is stated to be designed, machined and assembled in Idaho while it's parts are manufactured in China. The original MSRP shown for this razor at ClassicShaving.com is/was $79.99 USD. At the time of my purchase this item was price discounted down to $54.99 with free shipping. It was delivered undamaged from Idaho to Pennsylvania within four business days of purchase.
Occam's DE Safety Razor is a three piece non-adjustable that features an all-stainless steel build, a machine knurled handle, the option of a smooth and/or ridged razor head and option of three separate base plates; closed comb, partial open comb and full open comb. For an additional charge, ClassicShaving.com will also include a 5 or 10 pack box of razor blades with your purchase so that you can jump right into wet shaving.
All scores are rated 1 through 5.
BUILD QUALITY (score 4):
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| Complete Occam's Safety Razor kit |
The Occam's DE razor build quality is very good with the full boxed set that I'd received with my purchased. The handle is machine milled with a nice grippable surface pattern that doesn't slip easily within a soapy hand. The overall weight is around 3.5 ounces that allows for the razor itself, in general, to apply enough pressure to shave away hair with a good blade, minimal user pressure required. The stainless steel base plates and top caps appear mold or press forged, their attachment screw is clean and firmly secured with a good hand finish, not mirror polished though.
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| Occam's safety razor - under top plate |
The underside of the two top plates have a few minor finish discolorations near to and along the cutting edges,
though the largest spots on the left cap (see picture) nearer to the screw and alignment posts were merely buffing compound that I removed with a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol. The minor edge discolorations in no way impede performance and are not noticeable when fully assembled. Blade gaps are spot-on and level across the entire length of the installed blade on both sides. An installed DE blade is a safe distance away from the razor's top/base plate corner edges so as not to nick or cut when shaving around tricky spots like ears, lips and more. All three razor parts (handle, base and top plates) screw together evenly and firmly with no wobble or looseness using average hand-torque pressure.
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| Occam's safety razor - base plates |
FUNCTIONALITY (score 5): I've shaved with the Occam's DE Safety Razor 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 each week. For me, the Ocaam's DE safety razor shaves great on both my scalp and face with very little to no skin irritation using the closed comb base plate. 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. Above is a picture of all three available base plates. In terms of aggressiveness (1 thru 10, mild to very aggressive), I would rank them as such (from left to right): closed comb 3, hybrid comb 5 and open comb 8. Of course, your experience in aggressiveness will vary depending on your choice of DE blade installed. The razor suffers no hair clogging when cutting my average course stubble. I've routinely achieved smooth shaves with as little as one to two passes. It also edge-cuts well around facial hair like sideburns or moustaches.
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| Occam's safety razor - top caps |
VALUE (score 5): The value of the Occam's DE Safety Razor is great when considering it's well manufactured stainless steel build quality and cost of purchase. At the time of this review, my purchase was $54.99, sale-priced and using a coupon code for the complete kit with free shipping from
ClassicShaving.com. You may also elect to purchase this razor with a single choice of either top cap and base plate for less money should you choose. But, for a few more dollars, you can own the entire set and have an heirloom safety razor that should last for many years with proper care. While there are many great razors available from other manufacturers in this price range, the appeal of the Occam's DE safety razor is it's quality stainless steel build that I feel outclasses it's chrome and/or nickel plated competitor's offerings. It's an solid affordable addition to your every day shaving needs.
OVERALL (score 4.5): The Occam's DE Safety Razor is now among the top of my weekly razor rotations. My favorite safety razor is still my 1965 Gillette Slim adjustable, which performs incredibly well at settings 3 thru 4 using Astra Superior Platinums. But, the Occam's DE razor performs almost as adept and smoothly as my Gillette does, much to my surprise, and outperforms all the other non-adjustable DE razors in my rotation. Overall, I find this razor to be one of the best DE safety razors currently available for it's price point in terms of functionality and quality of build.
73,
Patrick, K3NYJ
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