Closed Pass around: Option Five - Finished.

Shave #4 - And now for something completely different

One of my first thoughts when I first got the Option Five was: I bet that's slippery when you do an oil shave. Today I felt mischievous.
I don't do oil shaves very often, because they are weird. There are other things I don't do very often: Exfoliating and hot towels are somewhat out of fashion in my shave routine. And I haven't used L'Eau d'Issey in months. So today, for something completely different: (I'll stick with a blade I know well and the alum block)
  • Burt's Bees Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream
  • Hot Towel (from the Microwave)
  • Nuagé Men Shaving Oil with Menthol
  • Option Five razor
  • PolSilver blade (2)
  • Alum block
  • L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme ASL
  • L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme EdT
I don't see the point in face scrubs and hot towels anymore. I find that a good face lather is enough prep for me. A hot towel on a cold day can be quite pleasant though.
The Nuagé Men Shaving Oil does the trick for me and it has the advantage that it only costs £1 at Sainsbury's. From my experience it does the job as well as more expensive brands. Shaving with oil is weird. There is no lather on your face and therefore you can't see where you have already shaved. As I always shave my face in the same order this is not a problem for me. I always try to apply the oil with my left hand and shave with the right hand, so it's not too slippery. This never works. I always get some oil on my right hand. The Option Five is quite heavy and has a very smooth handle with no knurling. To my astonishment this was not a problem. I hold the Option Five rather close to the head, where the handle is at its narrowest. Not once did I fear that the razor would slip from my hands. The cap glides smoothly across my oily face and I can see (advantage of no lather) and hear stubble being removed.
Fast forward... four passes later...
Oil shaves have the advantage that any clean-up pass is very straight forward. Feel your face and any stubble you still find can be removed without applying any more oil - there is still enough on your face (I do reapply a few drops of oil between passes though).
I had a very easy and very gentle shave. Perfectly smooth everywhere without the slightest incident. I'm impressed and pleased. The alum block stings a bit, but not more than usual. After I wash off the alum my skin is very smooth and slick, but a bit too oily for my taste. The alcohol in L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme ASL takes care of that. I apply a bit of the matching EdT here and there and I'm left very clean shaven and smelling nice. What more could I want?
To my surprise the Option Five has coped with oily hands rather well.
The oily razor has been cleaned with denture cleansing tablets, followed by a few minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner and a ten minute soak in Barbicide solution and a gentle rub with a microfibre cloth. It's now all packaged up and ready to be posted to @p.b later today. My final verdict on the Option Five will follow later.
To be continued...
 
Option Five - my final verdict

Looks
The looks of the Option Five razor will divide people. It's very modern. It's unlike any other razor on the market. I'm not normally a fan of space-agey razors (Merkur Vision - meh), but the Option Five looks nice. The look of the buttons below the head works. I'm not a fan of logos on the cap either, but the rather abstract logo doesn't bother me. I guess I don't like text on the cap. Overall the design works for me.

Blade loading
The blade loading mechanism is very unique. Option Five have come up with a unique design here and it works nicely. Removing the blade felt a bit awkward for me at first, but I got used to it. It can easily be done without danger to life and limbs. I still prefer razor heads that have the blade tabs sticking out of the head. Most people don't. I just find that shaving close to the nostrils (the way I do it) is easier with such razors. I use the very ends of the cutting edge and in a razor like the Option Five these ends are too far from the sides of the head. Having said that, I did manage and I don't think its a major problem. I just like what I'm used to. You can't teach an old leopard new spots. :D

Weight and balance
The Option Five is heavy. It weighs in at 116g. I have weighed a few razors in my time and it comes in as the fifth heaviest out of 45. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked the brass Hone 15 which weighs a whopping 164g. The Option Five is very top heavy though. The balance point is about here:
OptionFiveBalance.jpg
That's were I think the razor should be held. Hold it further down and the weight of the razor will cause too much pressure. Holding it there also seems to improve grip on the razor. Even with oily hands I had no problems when holding the razor at its narrowest point. It didn't bother me, but some might not like a razor that is so top heavy.

Shaving
The proof of the pudding is of course in the shaving. I found that the Option Five consistently gave me excellent shaves. I'd say it's mid-aggressive - I can feel the blade, but not excessively so. It also gives very good audible feedback. It's one of the more noisy razors. The angle was easy to find. Make sure to use NO PRESSURE and the Option Five should give you great shaves.

Price
Now here is the surprise. It's reasonably priced. The current price is $64.90 with free shipping from Switzerland. That's currently about £52.80. Switzerland is not in the EU though and if customs feel like it you'll need to add VAT (£10.56) and Royal Mail ransom (£8), so you might end up paying £71.
£52.80 is a very good price for a razor of this quality, while £71 is still very reasonable compared to other new razors. However - if I didn't have more razors than is reasonable , I'd rather go for a Merkur Progress for less money. Or a Merkur 45 for much less money. Now, if the Option Five was adjustable...

Room for improvement
  • The Option Five is of nice quality, but I think it's a bit heavy. Aluminium maybe?
  • Don't show me tiny screws and expect me not to want to fiddle with them. Cover them with superglue or allow me to look inside... (hey, there's an idea... a see-through head.. :D)
  • Make it adjustable. No idea how, but hey, I'm not an inventor.
  • The plastic inset in the cardboard box is rubbish. Use foam instead, or better still - moulded cardboard for the environment.
  • Make it available in pink and increase the price by 50%. On second thought - don't.
  • Make the blade tabs stick out of the head - then wait for everyone except me complain. Maybe not.
As you can tell, I have run out things to criticise.

Summary
Pros: It's a nice razor - if you like the futuristic design and if you like your razors heavy. It shaves well and the price is reasonable.
Cons: minor.

The razor is now on its way to @p.b - second class signed for will do for this pass around.
 
Option Five - my final verdict

Looks
The looks of the Option Five razor will divide people. It's very modern. It's unlike any other razor on the market. I'm not normally a fan of space-agey razors (Merkur Vision - meh), but the Option Five looks nice. The look of the buttons below the head works. I'm not a fan of logos on the cap either, but the rather abstract logo doesn't bother me. I guess I don't like text on the cap. Overall the design works for me.

Blade loading
The blade loading mechanism is very unique. Option Five have come up with a unique design here and it works nicely. Removing the blade felt a bit awkward for me at first, but I got used to it. It can easily be done without danger to life and limbs. I still prefer razor heads that have the blade tabs sticking out of the head. Most people don't. I just find that shaving close to the nostrils (the way I do it) is easier with such razors. I use the very ends of the cutting edge and in a razor like the Option Five these ends are too far from the sides of the head. Having said that, I did manage and I don't think its a major problem. I just like what I'm used to. You can't teach an old leopard new spots. :D

Weight and balance
The Option Five is heavy. It weighs in at 116g. I have weighed a few razors in my time and it comes in as the fifth heaviest out of 45. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked the brass Hone 15 which weighs a whopping 164g. The Option Five is very top heavy though. The balance point is about here:
OptionFiveBalance.jpg
That's were I think the razor should be held. Hold it further down and the weight of the razor will cause too much pressure. Holding it there also seems to improve grip on the razor. Even with oily hands I had no problems when holding the razor at its narrowest point. It didn't bother me, but some might not like a razor that is so top heavy.

Shaving
The proof of the pudding is of course in the shaving. I found that the Option Five consistently gave me excellent shaves. I'd say it's mid-aggressive - I can feel the blade, but not excessively so. It also gives very good audible feedback. It's one of the more noisy razors. The angle was easy to find. Make sure to use NO PRESSURE and the Option Five should give you great shaves.

Price
Now here is the surprise. It's reasonably priced. The current price is $64.90 with free shipping from Switzerland. That's currently about £52.80. Switzerland is not in the EU though and if customs feel like it you'll need to add VAT (£10.56) and Royal Mail ransom (£8), so you might end up paying £71.
£52.80 is a very good price for a razor of this quality, while £71 is still very reasonable compared to other new razors. However - if I didn't have more razors than is reasonable , I'd rather go for a Merkur Progress for less money. Or a Merkur 45 for much less money. Now, if the Option Five was adjustable...

Room for improvement
  • The Option Five is of nice quality, but I think it's a bit heavy. Aluminium maybe?
  • Don't show me tiny screws and expect me not to want to fiddle with them. Cover them with superglue or allow me to look inside... (hey, there's an idea... a see-through head.. :D)
  • Make it adjustable. No idea how, but hey, I'm not an inventor.
  • The plastic inset in the cardboard box is rubbish. Use foam instead, or better still - moulded cardboard for the environment.
  • Make it available in pink and increase the price by 50%. On second thought - don't.
  • Make the blade tabs stick out of the head - then wait for everyone except me complain. Maybe not.
As you can tell, I have run out things to criticise.

Summary
Pros: It's a nice razor - if you like the futuristic design and if you like your razors heavy. It shaves well and the price is reasonable.
Cons: minor.

The razor is now on its way to @p.b - second class signed for will do for this pass around.
A great write up, I am really looking forward to my turn in the pass-around. :)
 
That is a very good write-up.

With regard to balance, my personal first impression was that the razor balanced exactly from the place most of us would naturally grip it i. e. where your arrow points. Holding it, for instance, towards the tapered butt end might work for some, but not many, people.
 
The pass around has now started in earnest.
  1. sɐǝɹpu∀ / riverrun (ATG/TSR)
  2. p.b (ATG)
  3. Rowlers (ATG)
  4. Blademonkey (TSR)
  5. Mr Bigmem (ATG/TSR)
  6. Mr_Smartepants (ATG/TSR)
  7. Whosthedaddy (TSR)
  8. Les Dupondt (TSR)
  9. You?
The list is open.
Legend: Completed, Currently with, Waiting
 
Option Five - my final verdict

Looks
The looks of the Option Five razor will divide people. It's very modern. It's unlike any other razor on the market. I'm not normally a fan of space-agey razors (Merkur Vision - meh), but the Option Five looks nice. The look of the buttons below the head works. I'm not a fan of logos on the cap either, but the rather abstract logo doesn't bother me. I guess I don't like text on the cap. Overall the design works for me.

Blade loading
The blade loading mechanism is very unique. Option Five have come up with a unique design here and it works nicely. Removing the blade felt a bit awkward for me at first, but I got used to it. It can easily be done without danger to life and limbs. I still prefer razor heads that have the blade tabs sticking out of the head. Most people don't. I just find that shaving close to the nostrils (the way I do it) is easier with such razors. I use the very ends of the cutting edge and in a razor like the Option Five these ends are too far from the sides of the head. Having said that, I did manage and I don't think its a major problem. I just like what I'm used to. You can't teach an old leopard new spots. :D

Weight and balance
The Option Five is heavy. It weighs in at 116g. I have weighed a few razors in my time and it comes in as the fifth heaviest out of 45. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked the brass Hone 15 which weighs a whopping 164g. The Option Five is very top heavy though. The balance point is about here:
OptionFiveBalance.jpg
That's were I think the razor should be held. Hold it further down and the weight of the razor will cause too much pressure. Holding it there also seems to improve grip on the razor. Even with oily hands I had no problems when holding the razor at its narrowest point. It didn't bother me, but some might not like a razor that is so top heavy.

Shaving
The proof of the pudding is of course in the shaving. I found that the Option Five consistently gave me excellent shaves. I'd say it's mid-aggressive - I can feel the blade, but not excessively so. It also gives very good audible feedback. It's one of the more noisy razors. The angle was easy to find. Make sure to use NO PRESSURE and the Option Five should give you great shaves.

Price
Now here is the surprise. It's reasonably priced. The current price is $64.90 with free shipping from Switzerland. That's currently about £52.80. Switzerland is not in the EU though and if customs feel like it you'll need to add VAT (£10.56) and Royal Mail ransom (£8), so you might end up paying £71.
£52.80 is a very good price for a razor of this quality, while £71 is still very reasonable compared to other new razors. However - if I didn't have more razors than is reasonable , I'd rather go for a Merkur Progress for less money. Or a Merkur 45 for much less money. Now, if the Option Five was adjustable...

Room for improvement
  • The Option Five is of nice quality, but I think it's a bit heavy. Aluminium maybe?
  • Don't show me tiny screws and expect me not to want to fiddle with them. Cover them with superglue or allow me to look inside... (hey, there's an idea... a see-through head.. :D)
  • Make it adjustable. No idea how, but hey, I'm not an inventor.
  • The plastic inset in the cardboard box is rubbish. Use foam instead, or better still - moulded cardboard for the environment.
  • Make it available in pink and increase the price by 50%. On second thought - don't.
  • Make the blade tabs stick out of the head - then wait for everyone except me complain. Maybe not.
As you can tell, I have run out things to criticise.

Summary
Pros: It's a nice razor - if you like the futuristic design and if you like your razors heavy. It shaves well and the price is reasonable.
Cons: minor.

The razor is now on its way to @p.b - second class signed for will do for this pass around.
Option Five - my final verdict

Looks
The looks of the Option Five razor will divide people. It's very modern. It's unlike any other razor on the market. I'm not normally a fan of space-agey razors (Merkur Vision - meh), but the Option Five looks nice. The look of the buttons below the head works. I'm not a fan of logos on the cap either, but the rather abstract logo doesn't bother me. I guess I don't like text on the cap. Overall the design works for me.

Blade loading
The blade loading mechanism is very unique. Option Five have come up with a unique design here and it works nicely. Removing the blade felt a bit awkward for me at first, but I got used to it. It can easily be done without danger to life and limbs. I still prefer razor heads that have the blade tabs sticking out of the head. Most people don't. I just find that shaving close to the nostrils (the way I do it) is easier with such razors. I use the very ends of the cutting edge and in a razor like the Option Five these ends are too far from the sides of the head. Having said that, I did manage and I don't think its a major problem. I just like what I'm used to. You can't teach an old leopard new spots. :D

Weight and balance
The Option Five is heavy. It weighs in at 116g. I have weighed a few razors in my time and it comes in as the fifth heaviest out of 45. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I liked the brass Hone 15 which weighs a whopping 164g. The Option Five is very top heavy though. The balance point is about here:
OptionFiveBalance.jpg
That's were I think the razor should be held. Hold it further down and the weight of the razor will cause too much pressure. Holding it there also seems to improve grip on the razor. Even with oily hands I had no problems when holding the razor at its narrowest point. It didn't bother me, but some might not like a razor that is so top heavy.

Shaving
The proof of the pudding is of course in the shaving. I found that the Option Five consistently gave me excellent shaves. I'd say it's mid-aggressive - I can feel the blade, but not excessively so. It also gives very good audible feedback. It's one of the more noisy razors. The angle was easy to find. Make sure to use NO PRESSURE and the Option Five should give you great shaves.

Price
Now here is the surprise. It's reasonably priced. The current price is $64.90 with free shipping from Switzerland. That's currently about £52.80. Switzerland is not in the EU though and if customs feel like it you'll need to add VAT (£10.56) and Royal Mail ransom (£8), so you might end up paying £71.
£52.80 is a very good price for a razor of this quality, while £71 is still very reasonable compared to other new razors. However - if I didn't have more razors than is reasonable , I'd rather go for a Merkur Progress for less money. Or a Merkur 45 for much less money. Now, if the Option Five was adjustable...

Room for improvement
  • The Option Five is of nice quality, but I think it's a bit heavy. Aluminium maybe?
  • Don't show me tiny screws and expect me not to want to fiddle with them. Cover them with superglue or allow me to look inside... (hey, there's an idea... a see-through head.. :D)
  • Make it adjustable. No idea how, but hey, I'm not an inventor.
  • The plastic inset in the cardboard box is rubbish. Use foam instead, or better still - moulded cardboard for the environment.
  • Make it available in pink and increase the price by 50%. On second thought - don't.
  • Make the blade tabs stick out of the head - then wait for everyone except me complain. Maybe not.
As you can tell, I have run out things to criticise.

Summary
Pros: It's a nice razor - if you like the futuristic design and if you like your razors heavy. It shaves well and the price is reasonable.
Cons: minor.

The razor is now on its way to @p.b - second class signed for will do for this pass around.

Very interesting write up!

We are really glad to see that our razor left a good overall impression on you. You actually pointed out a few details that we are working on right now such as making an adjustable Option Five razor. More info later on.

We wish you a very pleasant first day of the week!

Your Option Five Team
 
@p.b's thoughts on the Option Five from over at ATG (original post ↪here.)
p.b said:
I like my razors, nimble, precise and light. I found the Option 5 bulky, but not too heavy, it's disguises it's weight well, but it is large and bulbous. It reminds me a lot of a Gillette Fusion type razor: big but comfortable and well designed. As Andreas has said one naturally holds the razor at the neck and at that point the razor is beautifully balanced and that's why I didn't notice the weight.

The head design is interesting too. It looks bulky bit I found absolutely no issues with it, in fact it reminds me of the Hone in its geometry (which is a good thing in my book). For me the shave is just slightly too mild but then that means it's very comfortable and I can still get a very nice finish which is more than close enough until at least midday.

Blade changing / head removal is neat, as Andreas described however this is the problem for me. The first two shaves with a Voshkod were lovely, the next two with my favourite Gillette Silver Blue were not impressive: I had several blood spots and a few missed hairs. Shaves 5 & 6 were with a Feather and were OK, again some blood spots and a few missed hairs. Today's shave, with the Treet Carbon steel, was good but mild which is as I would expect with this blade.

Most razors use a screw thread to clamp the razor blade in place and the very best DE razors I've used hold the blade very rigidly at the end and this stops the blade vibrating. The top plate of the Option 5 clips into place to secure the blade. Voshkods have no glue spots on them, GSB have a lot, Feathers have some and Treets have a tiny amount. I found hitting the top plate with my finger tips with GSB and Feathers in produced a tapping noise - the glue is holding the top plate off from being 100% in position and it's very slightly loose allowing the razor blade to vibrate too much and I think this is what is causing the small cuts producing the blood spots. In my opinion the top plate needs to clamp the blade tighter to stop this movement. No other DE razor I've tried has had a top plate that could be tapped and make a noise!

Even if the top plate clamped the blade very securely I wouldn't buy it as the aesthetics don't do it for me. However, I would buy it for a 20-something who had previously used only multi-bladed Fusion type razors as I think it's an excellent razor (clamping aside) and a similar size to a Fusion so the bulk of both the head and the handle would be familiar and therefore an asset and the blade changing is pretty cool.

Once again thank you to all who have made this pass-around happen. I really enjoyed using this razor despite the looks (for me) and the very minor cutting I received with some of the blades. It's a fun razor to use, comfortable in use (cutting and holding) and really well designed and I can see the looks appealing to a lot of people especially those who haven't previous used DE razors.
 
The razor is now with @rowlers
The pass around is still open btw...
  1. sɐǝɹpu∀ / riverrun (ATG/TSR)
  2. p.b (ATG)
  3. Rowlers (ATG)
  4. Blademonkey (TSR)
  5. Mr Bigmem (ATG/TSR)
  6. Mr_Smartepants (ATG/TSR)
  7. Whosthedaddy (TSR)
  8. Les Dupondt (TSR)
  9. You?
The list is open.
Legend: Completed, Currently with, Waiting
 
I would love the opportunity please.
I figure by the time it comes around to me I would have gained enough experience to compare it to my Merkur 34c and give a comparison from a novices point of view.
Many thanks in advance.
Wayne
 
I would love the opportunity please.
I figure by the time it comes around to me I would have gained enough experience to compare it to my Merkur 34c and give a comparison from a novices point of view.
Many thanks in advance.
Wayne
Sure.
  1. sɐǝɹpu∀ / riverrun (ATG/TSR)
  2. p.b (ATG)
  3. Rowlers (ATG)
  4. Blademonkey (TSR)
  5. Mr Bigmem (ATG/TSR)
  6. Mr_Smartepants (ATG/TSR)
  7. Whosthedaddy (TSR)
  8. Les Dupondt (TSR)
  9. Wayne Pritchard (TSR)
  10. You?
The list is open.
Legend: Completed, Currently with, Waiting
 
image.jpg The razor was recieved in good order from @rowlers, thank you very much........I will shave with Robby the Robot tomorrow and give my first thoughts .....I may have done already!!!
Thank you @rowlers for the blades, I may use some and add some of my own to pass on to the next recipiant .
I wish to thank everyone involved in making this pass-around possible .
 
Last edited:
View attachment 24340 The razor was recieved in good order from @rowlers, thank you very much........I will shave with robi the robot tomorrow and give my first thoughts .....I may have done already!!!
Thank you @rowlers for the blades, I may use some and add some of my own to pass on to the next recipiant .
I wish to thank everyone involved in making this pass-around possible .
Enjoy.
  1. sɐǝɹpu∀ / riverrun (ATG/TSR)
  2. p.b (ATG)
  3. Rowlers (ATG)
  4. Blademonkey (TSR)
  5. Mr Bigmem (ATG/TSR)
  6. Mr_Smartepants (ATG/TSR)
  7. Whosthedaddy (TSR)
  8. Les Dupondt (TSR)
  9. Wayne Pritchard (TSR)
  10. You?
The list is open.
Legend: Completed, Currently with, Waiting
 
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