Saw this one on Ebay a month ago or so. Kept eyeing it. Could no longer resist and bought three. As soon as I got it naturally I wanted to put it together to see how it looked (3-piece). When I screwed it on nice and tight, I noticed that the top cap bent downward right in half. The top cap which was now bent exposed a perfect circular design right in the middle. I surmised correctly that it had something to do with the little bolt that the guard goes on and the handle screws on. More on that in just a bit. "What kind of razor did I get?" Well, actually I may have thought of something a little more harsh than that but you get the point. I tried to bend the cap back in place which made things worse. Probably got a little angry with it and screwed it back on again with a little interest and my supposition about the bolt was correct on top of bending the cap even worse: the bolt broke through in a perfectly circular fashion. Either the bolt was welded on or the cap was so flimsy that when I screwed it on tightly that it made an impression on it and eventually breaking it by putting too much "pulling" pressure on it even with the guard on. Even ended up breaking the cap in two by trying to bend it again. Thinking that that one was a fluke, I did the same thing with the second one. Bam! Cap bended downward in the middle and bolt broke through. Only had one left so I better not screw this one up. Then the thought of putting a blade in it first before putting it all together came into my mind. Proceeded to very very gently screw everything together until just secure enough and only a very slightly noticeable bend, one that I could visually tolerate in a razor I suppose. Shaved with it. Unbelievable. One of the best shaves of my life. I guess the key was to put the blade in first so as to give some slight counterpressure to the the pressure being given by the handle being screwed on. I still believe that if one wanted to the cap could still be effortlessly caved in by screwing the handle on tightly. So with the blade in I put the handle on very delicately and to just the point that it felt tight enough so as to not come loose, as opposed to tightening it to the point that you can no longer tighten it. Which is the case with every single other 3-piece razor that I have owned. Ironically, the guard is very sturdy despite it being thin, and the handle is rock solid and heavy. So why would I sing the praises of a razor in which the top piece can break like an eggshell? Because it gave me one of the best shaves in my life. I went ahead and ordered another one, knowing this time how to handle it. I also wrote the seller telling them about the cap, and they said that if I ordered yet another one, they would include two extra for free. So now I have seven total minus the two that broke, leaving me five (when the one plus two free ones come) on top of ordering the extra one on top of the initial three razors that I first bought. Under any other circumstance I would have never ordered so many or get caught up in this whirlwind except for two reasons. One, the seller was willing to send me two freebies for the first two that broke, showing real professionalism I thought. And two, it gave me one of the best if not the best shaves of my life. So, if anyone out there decides to buy one as a result of this review, please be willing to put up with the eccentricities of the top piece and don't put it together without a blade in it and put it all together very very gently. If you are willing to do all of this, you just may be surprised at how great a shave this little razor gives. Or not. YMMV of course, but at $7.98 a razor (that includes shipping), it won't be too big of a loss.
I'm Sorry Please Delete Above Review. :ashamed001 I wish to nullify the above rating for this razor. I also wish to offer the entire community a PROFOUND APOLOGY for even establishing a review of this razor. No 3-piece razor, no matter how low the quality, should have a top that caves in when you screw it all together. You have all heard of the "Sour Grapes" syndrome, when something is out of your reach and you try and try to get it but you can't, one begins to scoff and snarl at it, saying, "I don't want it anyway!" The reverse of that is called the "Sweet Lemon" syndrome, where an individual comes across or pays for merchandise that is sub-par but keeps attempting to defend it or rationalize their belongings knowing that said merchandise is in reality atrocious. I believe that I was deep into the "Sweet Lemon" syndrome. Now, it is not my intention to step on any toes here while I make this apology; if you have bought this as a result of my review above and like it then hey, more power to you. However, IMO, I cannot defend the fact that I no longer wish to have a razor where the top parts bends in two and even breaks if you screw it in hard enough. I am most definitely not criticizing all economically priced DE razors manufactured overseas. As a matter of fact, I'm probably going to buy other brands from overseas because some of them look interesting to me. I just hope that I can find one that doesn't self destruct when all I am trying to do is assemble it to shave. Changed ratings to all 5's to remain neutral.
