--- source_url: "https://www.allappleallday.com/2015/07/harrys-razors-review-are-savings-worth.html" title: "Harry's Razors Review - Are the Savings Worth The Hassle?" mirrored_at: 2026-08-13T01:35:09.915Z host: www.allappleallday.com cited_in_42a: true mirror_canonical: "https://index.42a.ai/www.allappleallday.com/2015/07/harrys-razors-review-are-savings-worth.html" --- > **Original source:** https://www.allappleallday.com/2015/07/harrys-razors-review-are-savings-worth.html [In a recent AAAD post, we discussed the virtues of Harry's vs. Dollar Shave Club](http://www.allappleallday.com/2015/03/harrys-or-dollar-shave-club-best-razor.html). Ultimately, I went with Harry's. And now.... I think I'm headed back to Gillette Fusion, even though they're three times the cost. Here's why. ### Design Harry's makes beautiful razors. There's no doubt about that. (I bought a "Winston", which is shiny, slick, chrome.) **But there is a limit to the virtue of form over function.** Especially when that function is as critical as swiping a razor blade over your face. The Harry's blade is, basically, a prettied up Gillette Mach 3. That blade was a game-changer - it looked different, it packed multiple blades, However, like the Mach 3, the Harry's Winston has a LOT of room between the top of the cartridge and the first blade. That's where the moisturizer strip goes. It makes things go smoothly! It also makes it difficult to, for instance, shave directly under your nose. The Fusion addressed this issue by putting a "precision blade" on the back of the razor, for those types of tight spaces. The Harry's blade required some serious contortion - and I simply wasn't able to get certain hairs. More distressingly, though - I was CONSTANTLY cutting myself with the Winston. I have been shaving for 25 years, and I can probably count the number of times I've cut myself shaving on one hand. In my first week with the Winston, I had three incidents in which I needed to use a bandage to avoid getting blood all over the place. That may have been a function of the Winston being "new" to me - or it may be because I had to attempt some weird angles to get around the huge moisturizing strip. Regardless, it was a hassle. ### Build Quality The Winston handle is SO close to being great - it really just needs some additional weight, for added heft. As it stands, it feels like a plastic (or hollow) handle, coated with a shiny plastic. If it weighed twice as much, it would feel like an Art of Shaving handle. That's a minor quibble. The real issue is with the cartridges. I started looking for Gillette replacements when I noticed that I was refusing to buy new Fusion blades, and instead using the old ones until they were old and dull. Fusion was just too expensive. The good news about Harry's is that the blades don't cost as much, so you're getting rid of the old ones and replacing them with new ones before they go dull. But after a week or two with the Winston, I noticed that the blade wasn't working quite as well. The hinge on the cartridge just doesn't last very long. That's because there isn't really a "hinge", at all! There is a flexible plastic connector, which mimics the Gilette spring-loaded hinge - but it's just a stretchy piece of plastic. After a few shaves, that "hinge" loses its ability to bounce back, and then the flexible plastic coating tears open. At that point, you really can't use the razor any more. It's built-in obsolescence - the cartridge will go bad well before the blades go dull. These are disposable razors, to be sure - but Harry's are a bit more "disposable" than I'd expected. ### So, where does this leave us? Harry's does so many things right, that the things it DOESN'T do right really stand out. Unfortunately, when "durability" and "precision" are your drawbacks, that's bad news. Harry's is NOT a bad razor. But it's a whole lot cheaper than Gillette, and after using the Harry's blades, you start to see why. I'm not nuts about the situation, but I think I'm going to go buy some more Fusion blades. 2 (out of 4) STARS We review lots of stuff here at All Apple All Day - and it's not all Apple! For instance, [WOW Ultra TV vs. DirecTV Genie](http://www.allappleallday.com/2013/02/wow-ultra-tv-vs-directv-genie-review.html). Or a review of the [ADT Pulse](http://www.allappleallday.com/2014/02/adt-pulse-review-great-with-but.html) security system - or the [LiftMaster MyQ](http://www.allappleallday.com/2014/10/adding-myq-to-old-garage-door-opener.html) automatic garage door system!