Vintage Razor Blades Ordered:

It's been a really long time since I've used these DE blades but I went ahead and ordered 36 blades off EBay. I use to be able to get these at a local Kmart store a few years ago. Unfortunately, that local Kmart store in now closed and as far as I know, we don't have anymore here in the state of Virginia. But that's not the reason why these blades became Vintage blades. Gillette decided to close up their Brazilian shop which is where these blades were made and move them to Russia with their other shops that they have over there. They also changed the grind and the name of them to Gillette Rubie and they now suck as a result too. Basically Gillette ruined one of their best blades which is about normal for them.

I first tried these blades in an Edwin Jagger DE89 and my Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's Double open comb razors and let me tell you, phenomenal does not do it justice. In the DE89, it felt like there was no blade in the razor at all. Now I did get a little blade feel in the doc but it was still extremely comfortable. I have really missed these blades and just never got around to trying Vintage razor blades before which is about to change. I'm set on which DE safety razors I will be using and there's no plans or intentions in terms of buying another razor. Not unless a disaster happens like it did with my Edwin Jagger DE89 or the first double open comb that I had. Both got recycled at a local metal recycling plant not far from here. The DE89's handle took a crap which was fine because I simply swapped it out for the handle on my Muhle R41 but then the bottom base plate took a crap which rendered the razor useless and it would have cost more to fix it than it would to buy a new one which was sold out at every supplier I was using at the time. The same thing happened to the bottom base plate on my double open comb. Thankfully, someone sent me theirs that they had and they wanted it to go to where it would get used and it has served me well.

These were tolerable in terms of costs. I calculated them to cost $.73 U.S. cents per blade. They were not the most expensive vintage blades but they were not budget friendly either. Which is fine because these are no longer being made so I do expect them to be much more expensive. I will be trying these in the Leaf, Marvel and Rockwell 6C razors that I have in my collection. I did not like the Israeli Personna Reds in the Marvel or the Doc. But I do like them in the Leaf and the Rockwell 6C with the #4 base plate. The only problem that I've been having with the Israeli Personna Red Platinum blades is the longevity. I've already gone through 2 packs and I'm currently on my 3rd one and I've only had them for about a couple of weeks.

There's also a lot more Vintage razor blades that I want to try. The main thing that I was after when I first started wet shaving was longevity and comfortable shaves. I also wanted to save money specifically on blades. That went out the window when I discovered artisan made shave soaps. I do save some money on blades in terms of cartridges but that's where the savings ended. I've also wanted to try other vintage blades because I've heard their longevity is off the page. I've heard of some people getting up to 30 shaves per Vintage blade which is epic. I'm doing good to get 5 with the standard Gillette Platinum blades in the Marvel DE and the 5th one isn't very comfortable either. That would be awesome to get 30+ shaves with the Leaf and not being able to tell if there's a blade in there along with my Rockwell 6C and Marvel DE.

I'm also going to do a Google search, check out Esty and EBay for more Vintage DE razor blades. So far, I have compiled a list. Gillette Super Blue blades, Schick Krona DE blades and Wizamet Polsilver and Wizamet Super Iridium blades. The Gillette Super Blue blades are going to be expensive. I've seen them go for around $25 U.S. Dollars for 10 blades. But if I can get an insane amount of shaves out of just one of these blades, then costs pretty much disappears because I will go as long as I can before switching out a blade if it's comfortable which is really all that I'm after. So lets see what I can find. Schick has a ton of Vintage DE blades but they're more famous for the Injector blades which I'm not a fan of. Gillette also has a few more that I want to try. It will depend on my budget and what all I find online.

Gillette's New Heritage DE Razor:

For the first time in well over 30 years, Gillette North America has decided to release a brand new DE safety razor. The razor will be called the Gillette Heritage DE safety razor. This is huge in my humble opinion. The last DE razor Gillette ever produced was the Black Beauty back in the late 70's. When they stopped producing that razor is unknown to me. I'm sure Matt over at Razor Emporium would have a lot more detailed information. The only thing that I know about the Black Beauty was the fact that in 1977 (which is my birth year razor) was the very last year that you can get the Black Beauty with a metal bottom plate before going to 100% hard plastic or Bakelite. That is really all I know and after that, we've not seen a single DE razor made or released by Gillette North America since that time. Gillette stayed away and decided to make shaving more convenient rather than taking comfort into consideration. This is not a joke ladies and gentlemen. In fact, here's the link where you can pre order it on Amazon right now as we speak: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XPRRV9Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_viiQDb3RFZQF5 :

This is going to be a 3 piece razor which is a very good thing because the twist to open style razors tend to require oiling to keep the internal mechanisms from rusting shut like my very first DE I purchased nearly 6 years ago come the first week of February 2020. I already know about the Gillette Platinum DE blades which are currently made in Russia and they are fantastic blades especially in my Fine Accoutrement's Marvel DE safety razor. The blade gap looks to be similar if not equal to an Edwin Jagger DE89 which is efficient but super comfortable once you find the correct blade for it. I only wish that they would bring back the Brazilian made Gillette Platinum Plus DE blades. I use to be able to get those at a local Kmart store which is now permanently closed. Those were perfect in the DE89 and it almost felt like there was no blade in that specific razor. Right now, the only place I can get the Gillette Platinum Plus is EBay. However, if this razor takes off the way I think it's going to, it will be really cool to just be able to walk into a big box store and get some Gillette branded DE blades right off the shelf:

The case looks fantastic, but knowing Gillette North America like I do, I can just about guarantee you that only this specific razor will fit into the case. That and I don't think they are going to be a permanent thing either. I'm certain that they will continue to produce these razors but they will more than likely be packaged differently. I first heard about this from my friend, Ken Surfs over on YouTube. He uploaded a video about it and it shocked me. I also personally think that Gillette may have waited too late to do this. If they had done this about 4 or 5 years ago, there's no telling what would have happened. The reason I say this is because 5 years ago, there was not a lot of DE safety razor manufacturers back then like there is today. You had Merkur which is now made by Dovo and you also had Edwin Jagger and their line of razors and that was just about it without having to go and find a Vintage over on EBay. Those were the ONLY mainstream mass produced DE safety razors that were available nearly 6 years ago when I first started:

^ The specs that they have listed on Amazon makes me think that it will be on the light side which I don't like because I personally need a heavier razor to be able to plow through my thick beard but for someone who has a light beard growth, the weight might be ideal. The size also makes me think that there will a good chance that the razor head will have some blade overhang on the sides so do be careful when shaving next to your ear lobes and other sensitive areas. The blade gap looks very similar to the Edwin Jagger DE89 which means that there's a really good chance that it will be a comfortable razor especially for someone whom has been using one for a while and has their technique down pat. Here's a photo of the upcoming release date:

^ The release date is only a couple of weeks away and I know someone is going to ask me the following question. "Will I be pre ordering this razor or buying one later on in the future?" My answer to that specific question is NO and it's not for the reasons you might think either. I've got a ton of DE safety razors sitting in a dop bag and hardly none of them get any use. The reason is because, I like what I've been using for a while now and I have only 4 DE razors that I will be using on a frequent basis. The Leaf which is my top razor of choice out of my entire collection. The Rockwell 6C White Chrome with the #4 base plate and I prefer to use the Israeli Personna Red Platinum blades in both of those razors. The Fine Accoutrement's Marvel DE safety razor which I prefer to use the Gillette Platinum blades that are included with this specific razor that I'm writing about. And last but certainly not least, the original Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's double open comb razor. My RazoRock Eco can also be easily included in that list as well but I use that one to trim my moustache with more than anything else.

The price seems fair if you get all of this in one package. If they decide to keep producing the razor and discontinue the case, I think they can get away with a $30 U.S. Dollars price tag. They could still turn a profit easily with these razors. Now what happens after they release this razor is any ones guess. As I stated earlier, they may be a tiny bit too late but you will never know for sure until afterward. I'm also sure that these razors have been outsourced from overseas. Gillette would have to retool their factory which they did not too long ago with their new sensitive skin razor known as the Gillette SkinGuard which uses the dual lubrication strips and only 2 blades with a plastic spacer between them. I'm thinking that they are tired of seeing their razors sit on the shelves of many big box stores and seeing DE blades out selling them at every turn. If they had done this nearly 6 years ago, chances are this blog would have not been changed from an automotive/ home distilling blog to a wet shaving blog. I probably would have never discovered Artisan shave soaps or shave creams like Proraso and Taylor of Old Bond Street. I'd probably be using this razor and Barbasol shave foam. I'm glad that they did not because these artisan soaps have really helped in terms of getting a really close and comfortable shave. This could also be a one time limited edition release. Only time will tell and we the general public will find out as things happen.

Public Service Announcement:

This is not shave related but this is a public service announcement. For some reason, people seem bent on trying to steal other people's money and financial information more than normal. This same group tried to go after me for a debt that NEVER EXISTED. This same group is now trying to go after my mom and it's already failed and blew up in their faces. They are claiming to be collecting for Lehman Brothers. There's several problems with this and then some. Lehman Brothers was a bank that switched from your standard banking to mortgages. They filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 2008 and was gone by November 20, 2008 right after Obama got elected. And thankfully he's long gone and has been gone for nearly 4 years now. With that being said, how can you collect for a company that's been gone for 11 years? Problem number 2. Mom never had a mortgage with Lehman Brothers and could not and would not get one because she was with in an eyelash of paying the one she had paid off. In fact, she paid hers off in early 2005. Once you pay something like a mortgage you have NO DESIRE to have another mortgage in your life period. See below for more information and how this was impossible: 

The impossible part is due to Lehman Brother's locations. They NEVER had any location in Virginia ladies and gentlemen. In fact the nearest one if you can call it that was in Montgomery, Alabama and that is an extremely long way from us period. It's a 7 hour drive one way from us. Now why would my mom who is about pay off her mortgage drive 14+ hours round trip to take out a second mortgage? It did not happen. This same group also tried to pull the online banking reference and said this happened in 2004. We did NOT have Internet services until 2006 and we only had it briefly because I was working a full time job and did not need it and I never had enough time to use it. Plus online banking didn't really take off until much later and only a handful of banks had that capability in 2004. So that shot that idea down in a big way. Kindly hard to apply for an online mortgage when you didn't even have Internet services in 2004 and didn't get them until many years later isn't it? There's also more things that threw up even more red flags.

They tried to mention having our I.D. on record. That also failed. The state of Virginia now has their both their driver's licenses and state photo I.D. special ordered due to extra security features such as holographic photos and anti theft features. Plus there's talk that even more will be added here pretty soon, possibly later on this month. So unless we walk in somewhere and present our driver's licenses, there's NO WAY they could have our photo I.D. on their records. Once again, another futile attempt to steal information.

Another problem that they did not take into account is the fact that we monitor our credit and the credit card companies do call us when there's an issue in a heart beat. I got issued a brand new card because of Tiki Bar Soaps. Their website was not secure and my credit card company sent me a new credit card and locked the other one. They called and told me this after mailing it to me. So I know what's on my credit report along with mom's. They are simply stupid crooks. With all of the anti theft features and precautions that we take and that our state also takes in addition to the banks calling and alerting us, this all but proves a fraud case. If they continue to call and harass us, I will be calling the police and pressing fraud charges big time.

They also kept changing their location on the caller I.D. shown above. You would figure crooks would be much smarter than that but they are not. So please take a moment to keep an eye on things ladies and gentlemen. This ends my public service announcement.

Sensitive Skin Strikes Again:

Earlier today, I got a great shave in with zero blood and it was close. Unfortunately after the second pass, I had a really bad case of razor burn to and my sensitive skin also flared up to the soap that I was using which is Soap Commander's Bounty which is extremely strange because I've NEVER had a reaction to ANY of Soap Commander's products since day 1 and that includes their sandalwood scent and I'm highly allergic to with the exception to Soap Commander's which is called Commitment. Me having a reaction to some coating on the blades is not unusual at all but having one to a Soap Commander product is extremely strange. So I must cease and desist from using Bounty and the Gillette 7 O'clock green blades. When I get paid this coming Thursday, I will be placing an order for some of the Israeli Personna Red blades for my leaf. My skin can't take using any other blades after this: 

But before I do, I will be trying these Gillette 7 O'clock Yellow labeled blades in the Leaf razor next. I've used them before and these remind me of the old Gillette Track 2 cartridges that you can still buy in a lot of the big box stores today. In fact, if you do an Amazon search for the Gillette Track 2, you will see the old Gillette 7 O'clock orange logo in the results. I can use a Gillette Track 2 with no issues and I do have one in my collection. It's a 1971 replica made by Col. Conk which I've not used in a while. There's also a good chance that I might have a 7 day beard growth in my next video. This sensitive skin situation is getting old really quick. The tough beard does not help matters out at all. In fact, it makes things worse:

So I must say good bye to the 7 O'clock green labeled blades. My sensitive skin simply can't handle these blades anymore. That's all there is to it. I've tried a ton of blades and these were the most promising. The part that is terrible is the fact that I have a bulk pack of these 7 O'clock green blades and I can't use them. Thank goodness that these DE blades are stupid cheap. I could not simply throw out cartridges of any kind due to their costs but these I can. I'll mail them off to a friend of mine. I know he does not have a lot of DE blades so why not send them to him instead:

I also have bulk pack of the Chinese version of the Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades. They are a touch sharper than the Saloon Pack which WAS made in India before Gillette decided to close the plant to make strictly cartridges and focus their greed onto those markets which is totally uncool in my humble opinion. Gillette stop being greedy. You will NOT beat the cost of DE blades and you are slowly killing your business. Plus that heated razor is a joke. I'm not going to pay $200 U.S. Dollars for a heated handle and your overpriced blades that may or may not work. Personna blades specifically the Israeli reds/Platinum Blues (In the United Kingdom's packaging) has won hands down. I'm also certain that once these Gillette Track 2 Plus blades are gone, I will be replacing them with Personna's version.

I do have a bulk pack of Derby Premium half blades if these 7 O'clock yellow labeled blades do not work and thankfully, I do have a couple of the Israeli Personna reds left just in case those don't work for me either. I'll have to look at my blade log book to see what all I've tried and there's a good chance that I will toss that one out after I get another one started copying over some entries and adding new information that I've discovered since starting it. I've also got my Fine Accoutrement's Marvel DE safety razor near by as well. I should have stuck with the Personna Platinum blades that I tried in my 37C slant years ago. Had I known back then what I know today, then I would have stuck with the Israeli Personna Reds/Platinum blue blades a long time ago. It's a lot cheaper to buy a bulk pack of those blades and burn through them due to a tough beard than it is to suffer sensitive skin issues on a constant basis just for an extremely close shave that ends up being uncomfortable. So now I will see what happens next.

Israeli Personna Reds & The Leaf Update:

Today's shave felt great but it also told a very familiar story that I had with these blades in the past with another razor. That same story was with the Merkur 37C slant and these specific blades with the United Kingdom packaging which was 2 great shaves before having to swap out the blade for a fresh one. The first shave with the Israeli Personna blades was phenomenal! It felt like there was no blades in the leaf. That's how comfortable they are in the leaf razor. But I did not get a close enough shave the first time around because I had an excessive amount of beard growth which was too much for these specific blades to handle. That changed today and I also had a minimal amount of irritation in my neck area due to it still being sensitive and I did mow off a couple of bumps in the process. But other than that, no massive amounts of blood at all:

The second shave on these blades felt a lot less comfortable compared to the first. They had a slight pulling sensation to them but I feel that could have been taken care of with a tiny bit of stropping on a towel of some kind. Just be careful with the tabs on the side of the blade because they will catch on a towel if you are not careful. In terms of closeness, I managed to pull off a two and half pass shave with minimal to no stubble left over:

The post shave feel was way better this time around compared to the last one. I had mowed off a couple of bumps but other than that, there was no blood involved. About an hour later, I could tell that this was one of my best shaves in terms of left over stubble which was minimal and could only be found in my usual trouble spots. Another thing I noticed is that I was able to go against the grain with the half pass that I performed on my neck area which is a good thing. I also found that I can easily buff with these blades as well. Will these Israeli Personna Reds become my "go to" blade in the Leaf? Probably not but I may get a couple more packs of them. it will depend on my budget over the next couple of months. Plus I currently have enough blades in stock to tide me over.

Would I recommend these blades for sensitive skin and light beard growth? Absolutely and then some. If I did not have 4+ days worth of beard growth the first time around, I would probably would have gotten a far better post shave the first time around and I probably would have gotten another shave out of these blades. We will see what happens with my next shave which will probably be either Sunday or Monday. I find that I get a lot less irritation with less passes and no more than 3 days worth of beard growth especially with these lovely Israeli Personna Red labeled blades. These are perfect for 3 days worth of beard growth or less if you have a tough beard like I do. If your beard is not as tough as mine is and have a lighter growth, then you could probably go longer if you wanted to which is a good thing.

I know I will be asked so I will do what I can. These blades are the best that Personna has to offer in my humble opinion in reference to the ones I've tried both recently and in the past. They do have some Personna X half blades out on the market now, but I have not tried them and I really don't feel the need to try them in comparison. The Personna Lab blue blades were not as good in the Leaf compared to these and I'm not going anywhere near the Personna Medical Prep blades. The Medical Preps were harsh on my skin and would not hardly plow through my beard when I was still in my 30's. So there's no way I will try them in the leaf now that I'm in my early 40's with a much tougher beard along with known sensitive skin issues.

These blades are no where near as sharp as my Gillette 7 O'clock green label blades which is the middle of the road of the Gillette 7 O'clock series and work perfectly for me in the leaf razor. However, these Israeli Personna Reds are far more comfortable to use than anything I have tried in the Leaf razor. The only problem I have with these Israeli Personna Reds is that they don't have any longevity to them. I can get 4 great shaves out of the Gillette 7 O'clock green labeled blades and I can 5 out of the Gillette 7 O'clock black blades which are not quite as sharp as the Feather blades but pretty close. The Gillette 7 O'clock yellow labeled blades are equal to the old Gillette Track 2 cartridges that you can get today and I can only get 3 shaves out of those. I also can't buff with any of the Gillette 7 O'clock blades at all and I can't go against the grain either especially when I need to specifically with my neck area in a couple of spots. I have a feeling that I will probably end up getting a bulk pack of these before long because these blades were the best I've tried in the Leaf hands down in terms of comfort. Nothing has come close.

RazoRock Eco Blade Longevity Update:

The blade search is over for the RazoRock Eco ladies and gentlemen. I'm happy to report that I just got a quick shave in with a Soap Commander product and that this was the 6th shave on the half Feather DE blade and the blade had been corked 2 times before it was installed into the razor. It was not uncomfortable or anything and it was still pretty sharp but, it was starting to have a slight tug to it like the blade was trying to catch and grab a hold of my facial hair in my moustache area. I could have gotten maybe one more shave in with it, but I learned a long time ago to go ahead and throw out the blade when it starts to do that and install a fresh blade into the razor. Another thing that I also learned a really long time ago that applies to DE blades is "when in doubt, throw it out" . Most new guys don't do this and go back into an old habit from when they used cartridges before converting. For those that are doing that, "Stop it!" It don't take but a few seconds to swap out the old blade for a fresh one. If your lather dissipates, reload the brush and reapply the lather. It's been a while since I've had an extremely bad shave due to these practises:

As you can see below, I got my usual lather out of one of my Soap Commander products (can't remember which one off hand). I sometimes shave off camera to just enjoy a really good shave or when I'm heading out the door and don't have time to record and edit a video. So I'll try to come back and do a blog post about it if I have time to. A lot of times, I really don't have the time to blog and I'm in so many groups now that it's really getting hard to keep up:

In my last video, I had miscounted the number of shaves on the Feather DE blade that I had in the Eco razor. I had marked the wrong side and thought I had put a fresh blade in and I got quite a shock when I flipped the blade over and seen how many I actually had after I had recorded the video. I also found another pack of Feather DE blades and I still have one left in the other pack that I've been using. So I am good to go for a while now. Now lets do some basic math here. I get 6 shaves out of a half of a Feather blade. So when you snap one in half to use in the Eco, that equals 12 shaves per whole DE blade and with the Yellow labeled pack of blades, there is 10 blades to a pack. What that means is that you will get 120 shaves out of a single pack of Feather blades even after you cork the edges twice which is simple to do. Now if you just shave once a week, that's over 2 years worth of shaving just from 1 single 10 pack of Feather DE blades. This gets cut in half for the black labeled Feather blades which only has 5 blades per pack and the same can be said for the Red labeled pack of blades as well:

The 6th shave felt good and was really close and smooth in terms of the post shave. I don't have anything left in my moustache area as a result after completing 2 passes. In fact, I got close as a cartridge in terms of the post shave quality. The 7th shave would have felt terrible and pulled something fierce plus, it also would have left a ton of weepers all over the place. I didn't have that issue today with the blade in the Eco. It did feel like it was trying to catch yes, but I did not have any weepers afterward. I did have a couple of spots on my neck with the Leaf but I had none with Eco. I'll be doing another blog post on that situation here in a little while. So based upon today's shave, I can confirm that using the RazoRock Eco will double if not triple the longevity of your DE blades which is a huge game changer in my humble opinion. That was one of the reasons I got into wet shaving which was to save money on blades.

All in all, I am glad that I purchased this razor and could not be happier with its performance. The fit and finish is phenomenal and at only $30 U.S. Dollars, you can beat the price. Plus, Joe over at Italian Barber does throw in a 100 pack of Crown Half DE blades which he stated that he gets 2 head shaves out of a blade. So that's a year's worth of blades thrown in for free with your order. I myself thought that Crown half blades were pretty good. Unfortunately, I would be doing good to get 2 shaves out of a blade so I went with the Feather blades instead. That's one of the bad things about having a tough beard and sensitive skin. It gets even tougher if you are on medication and the older you get, the worse it gets. I did like the weight but I thought it would do better with a larger handle. So I put the original handle that came on the Eco onto my Hawk Feather Artist Club razor and grabbed the 175B Midnight Black handle that I got from West Coast Shaving Supplies and installed it onto the Eco and it worked like a dream. My RazoRock Eco now weighs in at just under 8 ounces or half a pound. The added weight made a huge difference for the better.

The RazoRock Eco Single Edge:

Today is a great day for the single edge razor and for those that enjoy those types of razors. Italian Barber has just released a brand new single edge razor today that uses a half of a DE or Double Edge blade. For as long as I've been wet shaving, the only way to get a single edge was to either buy a razor that uses the Kai Captain or Feather Artist Club blades or go Vintage with a GEM style razor or a Schick Injector. Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements does have a modern 3 piece GEM style razor but you really only have 3 kinds of blades to choose from. Then there's the One Blade and One blade core but once again there's only one blade choice for those 2 specific razors. With the Vintage Schick Injectors, you are limited to 3 choices. Schick's brand of single edge blades which are still available which are very inconsistent and somewhat expensive, Vintage Schick Injector blades which are extremely expensive and getting harder and harder to find or the Personna miniature hair shaper injector blades which are pretty good. The Supply company does sell a modern version that uses these very same blades but once again there's no variety. That changed today. Say hello to the RazoRock Eco Single Edge :

Before I get into the specs and what not, I'm going to give you guys a bit of a background story as to why I've been wanting this razor. My Twig Sculptor which can be seen below is on its last leg. That's my second one and I do have another ready to go but it has no weight behind it to plow through my tough beard. The cheap plastic twist to open Twig Sculptor came with my Leaf razor which I really like using with the Gillette 7 O'clock green label blades but I really enjoyed being able to use just a half a DE blade in the Twig sculptor. Due to its cheap construction, the Twig does not last at all. For over a year and a half, I've been hearing the Leaf Shave Company say that they are working on a prototype. I have yet to see one anywhere. I do believe they are indeed working on one but there's been no timeline given and all I keep hearing is "soon". Sorry Leaf Shave Company but I am done with you guys. This Twig sculptor is on borrowed time:

The RazoRock Eco does come in several colors. Black:

Gold:

Hulk Green:

And my personal favorite color, Electric Blue:

They do have a video up on how to snap a blade which is really simple to do. I've managed to squeeze 7 shaves out of half a Feather DE blade in the Twig Sculptor. So that's 14 shaves per Feather DE blade. I don't know how many shaves I will get out of a DE blade with this razor:

Another bonus is the fact that as of right now on their website, Italian Barber is throwing in a free package of 100 count Crown half DE blades which is an awesome thing to do:

^ That is a really sweet deal. Now onto the specifications:

^ This seems to be a little on the lighter side at 1.3 ounces or 38 grams, but that's okay because I have an extra handle here that could help if it needs it. I'll have to shave with it a few times before I can determine whether or not I will need to do that. After all, my monster handle that I currently have on my Hawk SE will add a ton of weight to it. It currently weighs in at 8 ounces.The length is 90 mm or 3.5 inches which is about normal for your average razor. The materials used are CNC machined billet aluminum so it will definitely have some strength to it which is a good thing. And it is a 3 piece so loading the blade should not be a problem as you saw earlier. The cost is excellent and extremely budget friendly my total is below:

I've not heard anything yet in terms of shipping but since I ordered this razor, I'm going to let my beard grow out to give it a real acid test:

If you have seen my videos, you know that my beard is insanely tough and grows extremely fast. 3 days of beard growth for me is equal to 5 to 7 days for some. Anything I can buy that can get rid of that kind of beard growth that does not cost a lot of money is a good thing. Straight razors are great and I have got one of mine dialed in perfectly and it is comfortable but I still have one more to test before I can call it good on my straights. I still need a razor like the Eco to trim and get my moustache area with because it's extremely sensitive to shave with except with my Twig sculptor. But if the Twig isn't going to hold up, then I will be back to using something else.

This is a game changer in my humble opinion because there's a ton of DE blades that you can try if you don't like the blades that come with it. I'm willing to bet that the Gillette 7 O'clock green labels are going to be perfect for it in addition to the 7 O'clock black label blades. I'm not willing to try Feather blades in it at all. I gave them a fair shot and it came down to using them in the Twig sculptor or Phoenix Artisan Accoutrement's double open comb razor. I've also got a few other blades here to try in it as well if I don't like the Crown half blades.

Italian Barber says that it has a medium level of aggressiveness which is a good thing. You don't want it like the Muhle R41 where it can slice you all to pieces if you are not careful but you also don't want it too mild to the point where you have to make 4 passes just to get a decent shave either. I also recommend buying a small blade sampler pack as well just in case you don't like the blades that come with it.