I'm putting this here because I do not consider the Leaf a Cartridge Razor. Yes Technically it isn't but it kind of is, and isn't. Oh I don't know! Is it any good? Yes.
I'll begin with the dimensions. It's long, really long, think of your longest handle, this is longer. Here it is compered to my longest DE the Wolfman WR1.
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It, as we all know by now, takes 1.5 DE blades snapped in half and inserted into caddys in the head. It is a really cool design, no doubt there, a lot of Engineerring has gone into the concept of this razor, the blades fit easily and securely into the sprung head which pivots similar to a One Blade if you are familiar with that or if not many, many cartridge razors.
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Here is the head design
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Once installed the blades are held securely in place by a thumb screw on the rear which is captive so cannot fall out, another nice touch.
So to the shave. The first thing I noticed was like a Cartridge razor it needs long, smooth strokes, keeping the head against the skin was not as intuative as I would have liked, this I attribute to the slack spring on the head, it is a really light spring and you really have to press to keep contact but when you get the pressure right it does glide nicely. If you don't keep up the pressure it detatches itself from the face, completely the opposite of a DE. I used it this time with Shark blades but I will prefer something sharper so next shave will be with Gillette Yellows and I'll take it from there.
Good points: Compered to a premium DE it is inexpensive. It has shaved me just as well as any DE I own, BBS in fact, it is smooth in use, you hardly know you are shaving. It was a good shave, no mistake. It rinses well too, no clogging, unlike Carts, I remember having to use a Tooth Brush sometimes to clear the head in the bad old days, this just clears with an underwater shake.
Not Good points: I'm not going to say Bad points, that isn't the right term, it isn't bad but,
The head is large, as in really large, it needs, less height if possible. One way to achieve this could be to cut off some of the blades depth once snapped, I know this could be a pain to some but it would take seconds to trim it just beyond the point where it locks in, in honesty I'm not an engineer so someone who is could offer a better solution but for my money the head is just too tall.
The Top leaf adds to the height of the head, this could be done away with of halved in height, that would help.
The Spring that adjusts the head is too light, I'd like it to feel like the One blade, stiffer, still able to pivot but you can feel it better on the face and know where it is. This brings me to another point. Because the head is so tall you do not know exactly where the Top blade edge begins, you cannot see it through the rear so it is guess work if for instance and in my case you have sideburns, you cannot accurately guage where to put the razor to start the cut. The head also performs on the larger parts of the face and neck, it is not good under the Nose in a downward motion because again you cannot see where the blade is so you have to guess if it is right under the nostrils or worse resting on them. I didn't cut my Nose so it cannot be that bad but it performs much better sideways under the nose, it also will not get those pesky hairs right under the Septum.
the shave isn't aggressive at all but still more than efficient enough for the enthusiast.
So that is about it, Will I keep it? Hmmnn, possibly more than probably, it will take a little learning but I believe it is capeable of very good shaves with a little practice, it impressed on it's first outing and I think the shaves will get easier with time.
For £80 if you are looking for something to keep your interest in the hobby I can recommend it, it certainly isn't a novelty razor, it's just different and you have to congratulate Leaf for at least trying to offer a Non disposable razor for the Cartridge fan. I think it would make an excellent razor for the Younger shaver as a present especially if they are environmentally aware.
P.
