King of Shaves Azor Hybrid Synergy Razor > Reviews (17)

According to Toyota, their Hybrid Synergy Drive system uses a complicated array of batteries in a twenty-first century Wales & Edwards milk float sort of way to generate power in their Prius car up to 27 miles per hour, at which point a 1.5 litre petrol engine kicks in to carry you the rest of the way to the speed limit. Heat from brakes and other clever paraphernalia are regurgitated to recharge those same batteries, thus allowing Toyota to promote their Hybrid Synergy system as a safe, economical, environmentally friendly solution to motoring. Their sister company, Lexus, use the same system to improve performance and reduce emissions.

You could be forgiven, then, for thinking that the King of Shaves Azorrazor, which boasts a Hybrid Synergy System, might be one of those razors fitted with a Duracell AAA battery so that the ladies doing their bikini line can have a bit of a giggle.

But it's not. It's just a cheaper razor with a plastic y-shaped handle that looks a bit like a headless man holding a bunch of blades above his torso; Atlas for the shaving man.

It takes a lot to get me to consider a razor other than Gillette's rather superb Mach range, but a few weeks ago I had to go to Scotland for my brother's wedding and, on arrival, discovered that I had forgotten to take my razor with me. Having already managed to get myself in to trouble with the wedding party - and my mother in particular - because I'd arrived late, not brought the children, and made a bit of a rude joke about how much it had cost me to get there in the first place, I decided I probably wouldn't be doing myself any favours if I admitted my faux pas and turned up unshaven, so I trotted down to the hotel's reception and borrowed one of those 1970's Bic single-blade disposable razors.

The ensuing blood bath was nothing short of ridiculous - honestly, the Bride of Chucky could have done less damage to my wonderful face - and I was only spared a further berating from my mother when my father decided to stand up during the speeches and point out to the guests that he was glad my brother had married Sarah because he'd always thought David was gay. Still, it was a bit embarrassing when my neck continued to drip blood in to the Coronation Chicken...

Later, my brother told me about this amazing razor. "It's called the King of Shaves," he said over his pint of Belhaven Best, "and it's f***ing amazing. Even better than any of that Gillette crap," he slurred, "and cheaper too."

So, when my Mach 3 blades ran out I trotted down to Boots and gave their Azor razor a bit of a try. At £3.99 including three blades, it certainly is a lot easier on the pocket than either Gillette or Wilkinson Sword comparatives, and looks quite funky too.

The first thing you notice about the Azor razor is that the cartridge sits more upright than in ordinary razors which, according to Will King (King of Shaves founder (no egomania there then)), is called the TST Reflex (or Touch Skin Technology) living hinge, designed for ultimate shaving comfort.

Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed was that it left my hand at an uncomfortable angle against my face and ultimately made for a less than perfect first attempt at clearing my five o'clock shadow.

Muttering to my brother that my first attempt at shaving with these blades was not as good as it should have been, he suggested I made another trip to Boots and bought the AlphaGel Shaving Gel which, apparently, does not need to be foamed up first as other gels do, but can simply be left on your face as a gel and the blades will glide through it. What actually happened, however, was that the blades scooped all the gel up so that they became utterly clogged with the stuff that they then became even more useless.

After only my second attempt at using this razor I was already on to another set of blades, and the experience didn't improve from there.

Despite their promises that the Endurium cartridges are specially coated to make them last longer than ordinary blades, by the third attempt at shaving with this device I was having to move gingerly to prevent razor burn. Will King assures us, in his promotional blurb, that the Azor razor is light, easy to use and will last a lifetime. His blades apparently provide the best shaving experience time after time and, complete with their ultimate shaving 'software' platforms, they will provide close shaves free of razor burn and discomfort.

Sadly, by the end of the first week of using the King of Shaves Azor razor I was already onto my third cartridge of blades and my skin had been sliced in more places than the Bic had ever managed and the red tinge from uncomfortable razor burn is only just fading.

As an endorsement, this review is pretty useless - much like the razor itself. Personally, I would recommend you head straight down to Boots and buy yourself a Gillette Mach 3. It might cost a bit more, but each cartridge of blades will last longer than a week, so in the long run it'll be cheaper, your shave will be more comfortable, and your skin will be left silky smooth without a drop of blood in sight. And Toyota should be the only company allowed to use Hybrid and Synergy together in the same sentence.