I shave with a cheap Dorco Pace razor, and as someone who enjoys using fine objects and tools, I hate myself for it. It’s an ugly piece of plastic that looks like it was created by a failed basketball sneaker designer. But I use it because the cartridges are relatively cheap, about $1.37 each.
Previously I hadn’t seen any designey razor alternatives on the market that I’d consider. But I’ve just caught wind of the Pensa-designed OneBlade Core, a fanatically-engineered razor made of Tritan and stainless steel. Have a look:
The razor goes for $50, but I’m at the age where that seems well worth it to me for the design attention that went into it.
I also like that they’ve apparently engineered a good shave out of a single blade; tossing a pure piece of metal into the recycling rather than the typical metal-and-plastic cartridges seems more attractive to me. And speaking of blades—"Japanese blades" sound expensive, don’t they?—I was stunned to learn you can get them for 67 cents a pop if you buy them in bulk. That’s about half of what I’m paying for the Dorco replacements.
The only thing I’m not crazy about is the handle base. I’m assuming they want you to store it sideways so that water drains off of the blade properly, but as an apartment dweller with your standard NYC bathroom, I don’t have that kind of sink-side real estate.
In any case, if you want to learn more about the Core (yes, the name got to us) there’s more info here.
http://www.core77.com/posts/67025/The-OneBlade-Core-A-Hyperdesigned-Razor-That-Provides-a-Good-Shaving-Experience-With-Just-a-Single-Blade