Kai 4 Razor Review

Kai 4

Brand: Kai
Model: Kai 4
Bought at: Mustafa’s
Cost: S$9 for one handle and one razor. Replacement blades not available.

Ratings:
Closeness: 9
Quality: 9
Look: either 1 or 10 depending on your tastes
Value: 4

If a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville made sweet beautiful love to a xenomorph from the movie “Aliens”, then their lovechild would have been the Kai 4 razor. This is a funky looking razor, with hammerhead front and an elongated head, fully chromed body, and spiny rubber black belly that is like holding a prehistoric rubber lizard. I am presuming that this is a made-for-Japan product as almost of the text on the packaging was in Japanese, except for “Kai Razor” and “Kai4”.  I shook my head as I popped this out of the packaging. “Oh, Japan, you so crazy”.

I lathered up, gripped this alien love baby, and took the first stroke.

Oh. My. God.

The shave was great. The four blades were super sharp, barely even making a sound as they whipped through my thick facial hair. And the shave was close, leaving the best shave that I have had in years. Most razors claim to have a lubricating strip, which few of us can really tell is making any difference or not given the sea of shaving cream. But Kai 4 has a no-doubt-about-it lubricating strip that leaves a snail trail of slippery smooth lubrication ahead of it.

I used this razor for several weeks and found it was especially good for shaving against the grain of the hair. Normally, this is a no-no, but found that it gave me the extra close shave without burn or ingrown hairs. And as the quality of the shave degraded after the first week, I really had to resort to shaving against the grain to replicate the amazing close shave that I got the first time.

The handle had a satisfying amount of weight to it, so it felt like I was wielding a razor rather than rubbing a plastic spoon on my face. And the swivel mount on the head was smooth, but firm enough to keep a close
shave around tight corners like chins and jawlines.  

The blades are close together and thin, which theoretically should give a smoother shave, which the Kai 4 gave. But the drawback is that it is easier to get clogged up and harder to rinse.

Now the bad news.

Unfortunately, there are several problems that prevent me from wholeheartedly recommending this razor. The lubricating strip lays down such a thick, awesome layer that it is clearly wearing away at a fairly fast pace. Sure enough, the lube volume dropped off significantly after the first few days and is now more of a "normal" strip in the second week. I am not sure if it due to the reduction in lube or razor durability, but the quality of the shave went from awesome to average in the second week.

Another negative is replacing blades. The push-button releases the tension so a cartridge will pop out, but there is no mechanism to quickly mount new blades. I had to manually mount the side pins into the cartridge, rather than the usual press-and-go types of most system razors.

Thirdly, I am concerned about supply constraints.  I have only seen this razor at Mustafa’s and it’s not like they had tons of supplies on hand. I have made a few visits to Mustafa's and they have not had the replacement blades for the razor. Mustafa's often stocks handles without replacement blades and visa-versa (don't ask me why, they just do). I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I am worried about ever getting replacements.

And the cost is not fantastic. Based upon the handle alone, it is about 15-20% cheaper than Gillette Mach 3.

The bottom line is that this razor is great for those who like close shaves and replace their blades pretty often (eg, every week) in those regions where you can get supplies. But until a reliable source can be found in Singapore, this is not a viable option.  Write a memo below if you happen to run into replacement blades in Singapore.