Pace 4 Razor Review

Brand: Dorco
Model: Pace 4
Bought at: shaveclubsg.com
Cost: S$2.40/cartridge

Dorco. Horrible name, decent razor. Dorco is a Korean company, but is perhaps best known for being the manufacturer behind the the US-based "Dollar Shave Club" - a mail-based subscription for razors. The Pace brand comes in 2, 3, 4, and 6 bladed varieties with cartridge interchangeability between versions 3, 4, and 6. Each handle is different, but that is just cosmetic.

The Pace 4 handle comes with a chunky white & black rubber-ribbed handle that is fairly large compared to other brands. It has good ergonomics and feels comfortable to hold. is also slightly heavier, but its weight is well distributed. I like a razor to have some substantive heft.  The cartridge ejection button is solid, smooth, and easily clicks in new cartridges.

If I were to summarize Dorco 4, it is balance. It's blades are not aggressively sharp as to invite nicks & cuts. But they are also not so dull that you don't easily whip through thick stubble. The shave is not extra close, which I prefer so that I don't get razor burn, pimples, and in-grown hairs. But the shave quality is good. The lubricating strip is there, but it doesn't lay down a slippery slick like Schick Hydro series or Kai, but does last a long time. The head is a bit larger than most, so I have to be a bit more careful to get those hairs just under my nose and at the edge of my sideburns. The cartridges also mount in the middle on the back, so it is not as easy to clean out as the Mach 3. The swivel has good firmness to it, so you can shave jaw-lines easily. The blades also seem to keep their sharpness reasonably well (two weeks of good usage without much performance drop-off). Also, the lubricating strip is yellow, not the orange that the picture below would have you think.

But the best part of Dorco 4 is that it can be bought for cheap. The best deal that I found in Singapore is Shaveclubsg.com, where I pay S$60 for a free handle and one blade, plus 24 other blades for a full year of blades mailed four at a time every other month. That's S$2.40/blade, plus a free handle, free shipping, and no automatic re-subscriptions. Best of all, if I decide that I was wrong and that I prefer my old razor, shaveclubsg.com will send the balance of my account in Gilette razors (again, free shipping) at the same retail price I'd be paying at Cold Storage anyways.  Seems like a can't-lose proposition. So I'm signed up.  

If you're an optimist, this is the razor you'd like to pick up in the morning, shave, look good, and think nothing more of your shave. You can press hard, shave fast, and shave against the grain. If you're a pessimist, you'll think "meh, others do better at each element" and you'd be right.

Bottom line is that I wanted to find a razor that would do *almost* as good a job as my beloved Gillette Mach 3 (or at least be good enough where I didn't notice) and be happy with the price. Unless you want to sacrifice some shave quality and go to Super Max 3 or fidget with double-edged razors to go extra cheap, this is the razor for you.   This is now my every day razor.