I love the razor and they were great about sorting a small issue I had. They told me just to let them know what I was looking for and they sent me a personal invoice with the discount applied.” The Leaf weighs 83 grams (2.93 oz.), and the Twig weighs 70 grams (2.47 oz.). That heavy weight is an intentional part of the design of traditional safety razors. You’re supposed to let the weight do the work and not apply extra pressure. It's got some bite which I assume I would prefer to the standard version which some have said is on the mild side. This was far more detail than I ever hoped to read about razors and blades, but as it turns out, there’s a lot of variation in sharpness between different blade brands. So if you try one you don’t like, you can try another. The weight is perfect, hefty and solid! I really like the feel of the razor in my hands as I'm using it. I do wish it had a round, knurled handle but (that's) just because I'm used to the handles on DE razors. It took a few uses to get used to the handle but after that, there was no issue as it's quite ergonomic, and not at all slippery.

But if those other toiletry items are proof that we don’t need nearly as much plastic in our everyday lives, then razors are the perfect exception to prove that rule. It didn’t take much testing to realize why people – especially people who shave their legs –switched from safety razors to frankly anything else. The first couple of times I used it, I thought my shave with the Leaf wasn’t quite as close as with the traditional safety razors. Thinking of upgrading your shave to a sustainable, plastic-free safety razor? After testing lots of (much less painful) plastic-free toiletry swaps, I decided to do the same. So I’ve thoroughly tested three plastic-free razor brands for this review. (TL;DR: The Leaf is the only one that didn’t hurt me.) These are the razors I tested for this review: I can never quite get the top plate aligned uniformly to the blade. I'll try to position the top plate manually just before tightening up but it has a mind of its own and moves anyway. This doesn't however seem to affect performance as far as I can tell. I guess it's just tolerance in manufacturing.The majority of customers are really happy with Leaf Shave products and love the fact that there’s a sustainable option for their shaving routine.

After feeling a little traumatized by my first encounter with both the Albatross and Well Kept razors on a Sunday evening, I ignored them for a day or two. If you take my advice, my favorite eco-friendly toothpaste tablets will not make your gums bleed. Great shampoo and conditioner bars won’t burn your scalp off.) But safety razors can actually hurt you if you don’t know what you’re doing. (Or if, like me, you think you do.)Any of the razors in this review can be used with any brand of blades – that includes both Leaf razors, with their single-edge blades. Just snap any standard, double-edge blade in half, (while it’s still in its paper wrapper!) to use it with either Leaf razor. Cast from solid metal for optimal weight and balance, the Leaf Razor delivers a smooth and comfortable shave. Designed for timeless beauty, this razor will earn it's place as centre stage in your bathroom, the envy of friends and family. I tried Leaf’s original, pivoting-head razor for the first time under subpar conditions: Jet-lagged, in a tiny Italian shower much smaller than I remember phone booths being. I didn’t put in nearly as much effort with the Leaf razor as I did with the two safety razors –but I got much better results. Leaf Shave Thorn Razor is a sustainable plastic free, beautiful and modern razor for both men and women. The classic safety razor, re-imagined!

Between my frustration with the self-care hype, and my general bad experience with safety razors, you might think I just didn’t slow down enough to make shaving with a safety razor work. First, the handle doesn’t have much grip (although Leaf sort of has a solution for that, as I describe below). And second, the razor is quite heavy. Both of those mean it takes some getting used to the Leaf when switching from a plastic razor. It does deliver a wonderfully effortless shave. It would go out on a limb and say it makes me think about not bothering with all my other razors (DEs, SEs, injectors, modern and vintage). It's that good. However I know I would get bored just using one razor, so that's not going to happen. The blades that come with Well Kept (Astra brand’s Superior Platinum) are sharp, but not sharpest around. In short, I didn’t learn anything that explained all the cuts. (I couldn’t find any data on Albatross’ blades.) Do metal razors rust?Either take them to a sharps collection point, or use some kind of “ blade bank” (a safe collection box), so that the people working at recycling facilities don’t get sliced.