Henson AL13 Shaver Review

To get straight to my review and forego the backstory like a lil’ punk, scroll on down past the fold. You’ll see it.
My real shaving days began when I joined the Army at an early age. I was kind of lucky. I could get away with not shaving every day in those early years but eventually I had to begin shaving every day. Not having much time to spare, I was forced to find the most efficient way to get shit done, and that was with an electric razor. None of the ones my little soldier salary could afford at the time was good enough to pass the business card test. That led me to the inevitable cartridge style razors. The Razor and Blade Business model. Also referred to as the Bait and Hook, or the Tied Products Model. A company sells something at or below cost (the razor) in order to be able to sell you an accompanying – yet required – part (the razor blade) at grossly inflated prices that make up for the loss of the aforementioned part sold at or below cost. In the end, it’s the consumer who gets fucked.
Fast forward to my second career, I am no longer required to shave, but I do. At least 3 times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I can now afford a nice electric. In fact, that was my first ever purchase from Amazon Prime’s “Deal of the Day.” Remember those days? When you actually got a great deal? Not only that, but for an extra buck, you could have it delivered over night! Got me a nice Panasonic something or other that was sold at the local stores for $250 for a mere $69. And had that bitch overnighted.
Even then, I longed for the days of lore. Shaving cream. Razor blades. Skin as smooth as a baby’s ass, as they say. And just about at that time, a new start up called Dollar Shave Club appeared on the scene with an awesome SuperbOwl commercial. I joined. They sent me my razor blade handle and my blades. The blades were on a subscription model that was something like $2 a month. Plus shipping. Not too shabby. Then the price went up, of course, as all things do.
That got me to thinking about safety razor blades. Those were relatively cheap. I started looking into the old fashioned safety razors and blades. This model is the exact opposite. You pay big bucks for the razor and mere cents for the blades. The trade off? Skill. You need good skill to control that blade so that you don’t make a facial sacrifice. After a bit of research and video watching, I decided on Vikings Blade – The Emperor and The Chieftain – the high and low end, respectively. The Chieftain is a no frills all around good razor. To this day I keep and use it in the RV. The Emperor is top notch, as the McPoyles would say. Not only adjustable, but with separate sides. Wielding both a smooth and notched side. That was back in May of 2019. I have used The Emperor as my daily razor ever since. Until today, that is.
And now, we’ve successfully made it to…
————THE FOLD————
Want my quick summary? Excellent razor. Lightweight and simple. Seems to be less irritating to my skin than my other safety razors. It’s a solid purchase that you probably won’t regret. And if you do? Shoot. They offer a 30-day money back guarantee. Now let’s bloviate.


I’ve been seeing these ads for Henson Razors, claiming to be version 2 of the lowly safety razor. 30-day money back guarantee. Made out of aircraft grade aluminum. I guess these guys out of Canada make parts out of aluminum for satellites that hang out in space as their day job. As a side-project they churn out these 3-piece razors that are supposed to be built to extremely precise specifications resulting in the best shave you’ll ever see. Henson also makes a version out of, <checks website> Grade 5 Titanium. That will set you back, <checks website again> a mere $250 bones. Tempting. But no. At least not yet. I haven’t even tried out the regular Henson yet, for Christ’s sake. I also reserve the right to change my mind at a later date.
I settled on the regular Henson AL13 in the standard Aircraft Aluminum color, which I highly suspect is just the aluminum with no paint. There are 4 other colors. They are pretty, but I’m afraid the paint will eventually rub off. Cost: $69.99. I can add a 100-pack of razor blades to the deal for an extra $10. Sure. Why not. It’s been about a year and a half since I bought razor blades. Henson claims this pack of razors will last the typical shaver 2-3 years. Seems exaggerated, but still. Who else can say they spend $9.99 on razors for a year and a half? I generally use 1 razor blade the entire week. It has 2 sides, it can be turned over for another 2 sides. I shave 3 times a week, I use one side per shave. Probably rather wasteful, but hey, when I’m paying less than a dime per razor blade I can splurge. I added the blades to the cart.
Next, I scoured the interwebs for a discount code. Because I’m a greedy penny-pinching bitch. Jackpot, as Quagmire would say. Found a code that brought the price of the razor blades down to zero. For about $80 I purchased the razor, razor blades, and shipping.
In my opinion no blade is sharper than Feather. Astra is pretty darn close, and at less than half the cost? It’s a no brainer. In fact, as I write this review the Astra is going for $8.98 for a pack of 100 and Feather goes for $22.95 for a pack of 50. Older videos I watched about folks unboxing their Henson razors clearly showed the included blades as Astra. But now they come with a brand called RK. Suspiciously looking, acting, and packaged just like Astra. Even the metal slots line up perfectly as if cut from the same die. I would not be surprised at all if they were simply a rebranded Astra.
I try all different types of shaving soap, but my current is Gentleman Jon Sandalwood applied with a Vikings Blade Dark Stallion Brush. The first thing you notice about the Henson AL13 is the insane light weightiness. It weighs in at an astonishing 39 grams with my Astra razor blade installed. Compared to the 133 grams The Emperor weighs. Initially I thought the razor would be too light. But no. It does the job and does it well. Not as orgasmic as they would imply, but a very close shave. Definitely a keeper. Henson claims no razor burn/irritation. From my experience, they are correct, though that is a person-to-person experience. Your results may vary. What I can confirm is that using The Emperor every day will result in razor burn on my face. Using the Henson AL13 every day did not give me razor burn. In my opinion it lives up to their hype and that says a lot. On the other hand…
I used the Henson exclusively for the entire first week. The second week I used the Henson all but one day. I went back to The Emperor just to see how I felt, because I was missing it. The hefty weight. The smooth glide over my face. This is what the Henson lacks – that smooth glide. In fact. It feels like it is acting as a type of squeegee device on my face as it glides over my skin for that stroke. After that, if I try to hit that same spot again, it feels as though it’s going over dry skin. But rest assured, it’s not. A quick finger to cheek check confirms the cheek is still wet. Just not as wet as I’m used to.
The other gripe, if you could call it that, is the appearance. I love stainless steel. I mean, check out The Emperor sitting there in its throne. All that gleaming stainless steel and chrome. Then look at the same setup but with the Henson. Kind of dull. Not the first hint of prestigiousness emanates from that Henson. But that’s OK. I still have The Emperor if want to experience an aristocratic shave.

If Henson ever does make a stainless steel version of their AL13, I’d certainly spend the coin on it.