Background: I shave and by 9 am the next day the five o’clock shadow has returned. I should be a shaving companies dream, but because I prefer wet shaves and no wet shave and the smoothness it brings – but its such a fuss (and we know it is), no blade seems to last very long or they just get clogged so you end up using loads of them I have grown to love my beard more and more. And lets not forget, almost no blade can get the bit right under your nose!
This all means I don’t shave that often and when I do, I use my Philips One Blade.
Over the past few years I’ve seen Harry’s from a distance and recently got interested enough to sign up for a trial – more on that below.
Who Are Harrys?
Harry’s was founded by Jeff and Andy, because they were sick of overpaying for razors by the big name brands – I am pretty sure we all know that story. They asked around and found pretty much most guys were also P*ssed about this, and so decided to do something about it – in 2014 they created Harrys and by 2016 had over two million subscribers.
Their massive success from 2014’s launch started before they even launched when they raced to 100,000 emails for launch on kickstarter within 10 days – pretty much meaning they were destined for success. You can read more about this massive marketing success story for Harrys Startup over on the Tim Ferris Blog (it’s well worth a read if you are in marketing or a startp).
What Do Harrys Offer?
So, you already know I don’t shave, I find it a real pain in all honesty most of the time. The photo above is about 2 or 3 weeks growth…
Harrys offer reasonably priced razor blades (from £1.81 each), which like most wet shave blades switch out when dull onto a long stay handle and they offer a range of foams and creams.
They have a range of handles, I went with a blue truman which is all plastic (rubberised) though there is a nice metal one too.
Interesting to note, they do also offer specific headshaving blades distinct from face blades, if you require those.
The Razor Blades themselves are German made. With the $100M pay day from kickstarter, Harrys bought out an almost 100 year old razor company in Germany known for quality razors – it was called Feintechnik, now Harrys Feintechnik, and you can still find some of the original blades it produces in Aldi (though they don’t really fit Harrys so don’t bother trying!).
The Blades are 5 on the face with a detail trimmer, or as I use it a nose hair trimmer, on the top. Its got a flex point at the base. It simply clicks on to the handle easily and pushes off when you need to replace it.
After Before
The Harrys Subscription
First off, with any subscription like this, always start with the trial subscription heres why.
- you get a free razor handle
- You get free shaving foam / gel
- you get a free blade and cover
- you only pay for the shipping £3.95
- You can cancel if you don’t like it, no fuss, or hit delay if you only try it once and still aren’t sure and can decide later.
- If you carry on your subscription or cancel it, you’ve got the razor handle and can always buy more blades from Boots!
Basically, the Harrys Trial is a win win.
The Normal Subscription, starts at only £19 – depending on how often you shave this could be monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly. The more blades you need the more expensive it is, and whether you want shaving foam etc etc.
Top Tip. If you just want the blades each order (8x) this is just £14 per delivery, that is only £1.75 per blade which is pretty cheap compared to the big brands. You will still need to buy your own foam etc, but you may already have a preferred foam or soap to use.
My Thoughts About Harrys
Overall, I am pretty impressed with Harrys.
The shave is fairly smooth, but it is no longer lasting as a shave than any other wet shave – though it does feel closer. The shave is a little quicker and feels less of a fuss, and after a few shaves the blade is yet to show signs of dulling. (blade drying on jeans ensuring longevity is a great tip here).
It’s not all glory for Harrys though. The blade seems to get clogged fairls often, and I’m not sure if this is due to the foam in the trial pack or if it’s the blade design. I am inclined to think its the foam as it’s pretty thick. This requires some real tapping out, and makes the shave the fuss it can be (and why i hate it, plus the pulling).
The handle is really comfortable too and doesn’t feel at all cheap despite being plastic. Its unclear whether there is metal in the handle for balance but it has a nice weight to it.
The cost of a subscription is pretty affordable, not least a the Harrys Trial is just £3.95 (postage basically) and then you can just pay for the blades if you want. – a quick side note here, get it delivered to work, hermes are annoying and despite the fact it would fit through the door wouldn’t put it through when I was at work… it ended up on 3rd attempt in the yard.
I love the idea of Harrys and it’s story over the past 5 years, the product is really good too – it could do with some improvement to stop clogging but other than that its really nice.