New CORE razor from OneBlade

I agree that nothing is wrong in asking for everything back. I think that is fairly common. I seriously doubt they are repackaging and selling the razor blades.

Well I called last Thursday to get my RMA number but due to the DFS+ with very very minor irritation if at all I was still going back and forth about keeping it or going with the option of trading for the new and improved version that I declined during the phone call. I shaved with it tonight and ultimately decided I would return it. So it's packed and ready to go to the Post Office (with remaining blades ) I think they should of just said return the razor and the stand dispose of or use the blades if they fit another razor. The whole blade fetish with them is a bit odd. I think I said in another post you get 30 days to try the razor it's not unreasonable to have used all the blades while trying to decide if you want to keep it.

I am very glad I got to try it (I would not have without the 30 day return policy) and will continue to watch what happens over the next few months. If great reviews come in with this modified one from those who tried the first one I may go for it again. Ultimately I wish they would ditch the plastic head.

Also regarding price, $50 (assuming going up to $70) is not cheap. I think it just seems that way because people are comparing it to the ridiculous (my opinion) $400 Genesis.  Again this is my opinion and no one is forcing me to buy either.  I mean you can get the Rockwell 6S for $100.  IB has a TI Baby Smooth for $100, a SS Hawk for $60, an Aluminum Hawk for $25, aluminum Baby Smooth for $40. ATT has the aluminum one for $96.

My hope is someone else takes this up and comes up with an alternative to the OneBlade and hopefully built around a different blade. This is not due to me wanting to bring down OneBlade as my experience has been perfectly acceptable with them, it's just good to have choices and competition.

Well said, Wolverine. There are so many great options for those who know how to use the tools with decent technique: Couldn't agree more about the Rockwell 6S, and I'd also add the Colonial General in brass, which at $60 is a very good buy.

I ordered a 'retooled', more aggressive CORE, and will let you know how it compares when it gets here.

Thanks Michael P I look forward to hear what you think. I really didn't rush to judgement as I think I shaved with it 13 times as of tonight. Most likely I would have gone for the new one (this one just requires to many passes and to much pressure) but from what I understood I would still have to ship back the old one on my dime which is perfectly fine as that was the agreement and they would ship the new one. I can do the same thing two weeks from now after getting some feedback from others. I understand they offer the 30 day return again but barring a problem with it I wouldn't feel right to keep ordering new ones and sending them back even if they allow it.

On criticizing them for asking for blades back and also when they told someone to keep them, it's because I just feel the fact that they are this concerned with what happens to the remaining blades in an opened pack is insane. Let it go. If I were them, I wouldn't care either way because there is absolutely no way they could sell them again and because it's just so trivial.

Also, in the course of a month of ownership, users could have used all 10 blades. In my view, part of having the return policy they do is accepting the loss of the blades. I don't feel that is a big deal. Taking the time to ask for a few blades back strikes me as very petty, but that's just me.

Wolverine, they offered me the option to return the original 'mild' CORE, but I didn't want to wait for them to receive the razor, ship out the new one, etc., so I just ordered the new one. They told me that since I'd be in the 30-day window for either of them, I could return the one I liked least. I appreciated that, but I'll probably wind up giving the milder one to a family member who is a newbie wet shaver.

Since I prefer razors on the aggressive/efficient side, I'm curious to see if there's a noticeable difference.

I've been a fan of the Feather blades since they were available in the US market, and I remember the trepidation with which I approached them because of the stories I heard about how impossibly sharp they were. It took a bit of learning, and at that point, I had already been single-edge wetshaving for over 30 years.

The fact that I have given the SS version of the v1 razor to two new shavers who were struggling with the usual beginner suspects-the Merkur 34C and EJ 89-and they could immediately use a Feather blade and get a cut-free, irritation-free shave with it speaks well for what OneBlade has done, especially given the market I think they're targeting.

On criticizing them for asking for blades back and also when they told someone to keep them, it's because I just feel the fact that they are this concerned with what happens to the remaining blades in an opened pack is insane. Let it go. If I were them, I wouldn't care either way because there is absolutely no way they could sell them again and because it's just so trivial.

Also, in the course of a month of ownership, users could have used all 10 blades. In my view, part of having the return policy they do is accepting the loss of the blades. I don't feel that is a big deal. Taking the time to ask for a few blades back strikes me as very petty, but that's just me.

Here is what I do not understand.  I imagine that a company, in this case One Blade, figures the cost of the razor, stand, blades, packaging, and shipping.  It then adds a certain amount for its profit.  In this case, we are talking blades, the least expensive part of the package.  Why not simply allow customers who return the razor to keep the blades but initially add another $1.00 to the whole package to cover the cost of the kept blades?  Since not everyone will return the razor there will be a bit more profit and a lot of good will.

Michael P, it's great that everything has worked out for you with One Blade.  The blade issue seems to be only one of the inconsistencies with their business model/customer service and I believe that is where the frustration is coming from, inconsistency.  If more kinks get worked out, if prices can be lowered, if customer service gets better across the board and not just for some but for all, then I think this company could be flying high.  As one who has never tried their products, many of the posts here have not encouraged me to do so.  If nothing else, price alone makes me wary.  I even think $50.00 for the mostly plastic CORE is a bit much.  I admit, that is just me but I wonder if any others feel the same.

Here is what I do not understand.  I imagine that a company, in this case One Blade, figures the cost of the razor, stand, blades, packaging, and shipping.  It then adds a certain amount for its profit.  In this case, we are talking blades, the least expensive part of the package.  Why not simply allow customers who return the razor to keep the blades but initially add another $1.00 to the whole package to cover the cost of the kept blades?  Since not everyone will return the razor there will be a bit more profit and a lot of good will.

Freddy , to be clear, I am with you on the return of the blades-it's a small gesture that if the customer indicates they want to keep them, they should be able to. But something that I tend to forget is that OneBlade is not marketing to nuts aficionados like me, but to the mass of cart shavers who want a better, healthier shave. For those shavers, what the heck would they do with those blades, unless they happened to have a Valet Auto Strop?

So, my speculation is that they asked for the blades back to make it easier on that kind of customer who might just toss the blades out of the box into the garbage, with the attendant hazards. None of us here would do that, but again, the average cart shaver who could toss a Fusion blade right into the trash without thinking about it? Perhaps.

And reflecting on it further, there's no way they would repurpose those blades to a potential consumer in any way shape or form. The legal liability if anything were to happen and this were to be discovered could put them out of business.

Michael P, it's great that everything has worked out for you with One Blade.  The blade issue seems to be only one of the inconsistencies with their business model/customer service and I believe that is where the frustration is coming from, inconsistency.  If more kinks get worked out, if prices can be lowered, if customer service gets better across the board and not just for some but for all, then I think this company could be flying high.  As one who has never tried their products, many of the posts here have not encouraged me to do so.  If nothing else, price alone makes me wary.  I even think $50.00 for the mostly plastic CORE is a bit much.  I admit, that is just me but I wonder if any others feel the same.

I'm sure the superb, courteous, efficient, customer service I've received is not everyone's experience. Neither do I think that the terrible customer service Andrew has received is the norm.

I think the perceived inconsistencies might be because their policies are mainly geared to the shaver new to wet shaving not to nuts enthusiasts like me.

I take pride in the razor techniques that I've developed by trial and error in my 47 years of wet shaving. I can take just about any razor (with a Feather blade, DE or SE) and get an excellent, irritation-free shave. So it's odd that I even got one of the OneBlades in the first place. This is a razor that requires virtually NO technique, and therefore would be accessible to a cart shaver. Yet, I read in SharpSpine 's journal about his experience with it, and said what the heck, and was very pleasantly surprised with the ease and quality of the shave.

Is it as satisfying to me as the shave I get with a Mühle R41, a Charcoal Level 3 Open Comb, a Wolfman .74, a Blackbird OC, or a Cobra, Mongoose or Asylum Rx SE?

No.

Those are razors that command my attention.

Yet, when I pull a OneBlade from the shelf and shave with it, I'm amazed at how effortlessly and well it shaves. The pride I have in my technique makes me hate that I enjoy the shaves I get with it.

Plus, it's been a joy to be able to have given some OneBlades as gifts to newbie shavers who wanted to get into wet shaving but were struggling with a standard DE razor. At least the ease of using the OneBlade might introduce them to the joys of a good soap and brush, a 3 pass shave, and the kind of shave a sharp single blade can produce.

Like you, I hope they make their customer service more consistent. Perhaps they should be more aware of the kind of shaver with whom they're dealing-nut enthusiast like me or newbie. All I can speak from is my experience, which has been excellent, both with the shave and the customer service, while acknowledging the missteps that have been reported. And I agree that they could be very successful if they do so.

My refund was processed today. yay!!

I think the argument made by Michael P regarding returning blades so they can be properly disposed of as to minimize risks is a good one, but one I don't believe OneBlade has ever articulated