Harry’s is an online company that offers reasonably priced men’s shaving and grooming accessories. How well does the Harry’s razor work? Read my Harry’s review.
About Harry’s
Harry’s manufactures high quality shaving and grooming supplies for men that are sold online at fair prices. The product website is harrys.com, which was first registered in June 1996. The screen shot below shows how the product website looked in April 2017.
Claims & Features
- High quality shaving and grooming accessories
- Fairly priced products sold direct to the consumer online
- Shaving blades crafted from high grade steel
- Create a personalized shaving plan
- 1% of sales are donated
Cost
Harry’s offers a number of plans and starter sets. Subscription shaving trials can be personalized and include a free trial set that costs $3 in shipping plus a mandatory ongoing plan. The plans consist of a $15 Blades Plan (includes 8 blades), a $21 Blade & Gel Plan (8 blades & foaming shave gel), or a $35 Family Plan (16 blades & 2 foaming shave gels).
There are also two main Harry’s starter sets. The most popular is the Truman set which costs $15. It comes with a razor, two blades, a razor cover, and foaming shaving gel or shaving cream. There is also a choice between three razor colors: Total Orange, Nautilus Blue, or Olive 107.
For $25, customers can purchase the Winston set which consists of a higher quality razor, two blades, a razor cover, and the choice of either foaming shaving gel or shaving cream.
In addition to the personalized trial shaving plans and the starter sets, the website features a selection of grooming supplies. Shipping is free for orders over $10.
Harry’s is now available at Target. A handle and two cartridges costs about $10. A four pack of cartridges costs about $8 while an eight pack costs about $16.
Harry’s Review
I have gone through many shaving phases over the years, from cartridge razors to safety razors to various electric razors. In recent years, most of my shaving entails my entire head, neck, and touching up the edges of my beard. With that much shaving on a daily – or every other day – basis, I have definitely gone through my share of razors. I had heard about Harry’s before, but I’ve always shied away from razor clubs. So when I saw a section in Target dedicated to Harry’s, I was glad I could finally try it out.
I opted for the $10 package that includes the handle and two cartridges. You can currently choose among three colors: orange, green, and black. There are two Harry’s handles available, Truman and Winston. As far as I know, only the Truman is available at Target.
Some readers have suggested that Harry’s has changed its design in the past year, so it’s important to keep in mind that my review here is based solely on the Truman model that was purchased in 2017.
On my first use, I found the blade to be sharp – as I would expect with any new razor. I like the width and the 5-blade configuration with a lubricating strip. On the edge of the cartridge is a trimmer blade, which is ideal for someone like me who uses this to keep the beard line neat. For the edges, I like to use the trimming blade, which – for the uninitiated – is an extra single blade on the edge of the cartridge which allows you to trim areas with more accuracy.
With additional uses, the blade itself dulled at about the same pace as about every other cartridge blade I’ve ever owned, which is about a week of daily use. I’ve read some consumers say that they felt Harry’s was dull right out of the box, but that was not my experience. Of course you may want to try the sharpening technique that I discuss below.
There are two design features of Harry’s that I don’t particularly like, even after extended use. These “cons” are completely subjective and strictly based on my own preferences. The first is the angle of the blade itself. I tend to like a razor in which the blade is almost perpendicular to the handle, as you’ll find with most safety razors. Harry’s is almost parallel with the handle, and forces me to adjust how I hold it in order to achieve the desired results.
The other complaint I have about Harry’s is the amount of flex. I realize that many razors include a hinged flex feature that supposedly gives you a closer shave or more control, but the amount of movement of this blade is beyond my comfort level. When I press the razor against my face, the handle can be pivoted quite far, which feels awkward to me. A little flex is OK, but this is too much for my tastes.
Harry’s is a reasonably priced, average cartridge blade.
- Pros: Price, trimming blade, handle comfort
- Cons: Too flexible, angle of blade
Alternatives
If you’re looking for a shaving club/subscription, there are others such as Dollar Shave Club you may want to consider. As far as similar products go, the Gillette Fusion ProSheild also includes a handle and two refills. It sells for about $16 and has a 4.4 star rating among about a thousand reviews.
An Amazon Best Seller is the Gillette Fusion5 ProGlide with 8 cartridges, which has nearly 8,000 reviews and a solid 4.5 star rating.
Honing Technique
Now, if you’ve gotten this far, let me fill you in on a little technique that has drastically reduced the number of blades I’ve had to buy over the past six months. You can actually sharpen your cartridge razor without any tools. All you have to do is move the blade upward (as if shaving, but the opposite direction you move the razor to shave) against your arm with moderate pressure about 10 times before you use it, or every other time you use it. This will keep your blade sharp for a very long time. See a demonstration here, or in my review below.
I had a cheap cartridge razor last me months doing this technique. It’s definitely worth a try!
Television Commercial
Your Harry’s Reviews
What do you think of Harry’s? Tell us what you think by leaving a comment below and a star rating above.