stikeyoda
Member
In the mailbox from Japan yesterday, in time for last night's shave – the new Kai Tholl cartridge razor. Not sure about its status as a product yet; I got it from the Kai Kickstarter campaign. My first comment is on the packaging. Nothing beats Japanese product packaging for its quality and thoughtfulness. Super high quality materials and construction. After removing the top, there is a nice fold out to ease removing the razor bed to access the blades.
The new Kai THOLL is an interesting departure from traditional safety razors, stepping into the cartridge space with a focus on premium, plastic-free construction.
Here are the key technical details about the THOLL:
Balance and Handling: The weight distribution is a highlight. Most of the weight is concentrated toward the head, which provides a surprisingly confident feel through the stroke. The flexible head also traces the curves of the face nicely and worked perfectly on the head.
Built-in Shaving Angle: The built-in shaving angle seems to work exactly as designed. I’ve had issues with other flexible heads finding the right angle; with the Tholl, it was literally keep it flat to the skin and let the blades work.
Magnetic System: I think the magnetic cartridge swap is an improvement over the subtle stress of conventional 5-blade attachment mechanisms.
The next step is to see if the cartridge actually lasts 2 weeks.
Sorry - I can't get any images to load. Here is a link to the Kickstarter video:
The new Kai THOLL is an interesting departure from traditional safety razors, stepping into the cartridge space with a focus on premium, plastic-free construction.
Here are the key technical details about the THOLL:
- Magnetic Assembly: It features a patented magnetic attachment system. The front cover and blade unit snap together magnetically, allowing for entirely touch-free cartridge swapping.
- Full-Metal Build: The entire handle and pivoting head mechanism are built from metal, designed for permanent, long-term use to challenge disposable shaving culture. The campaign never said what metal. A magnet test suggests the head is steel and the handle is aluminum.
- Handle: Reminds me of the OneBlade, though much lighter, supporting the head biased weighting. It was very comfortable and had no grip issues when wet.
- Flexible Head: Less flex than a Leaf, less than on the new Supply. It is probably closest to my brass Proof. That said, it worked well on a head shave. It feels magnetic as opposed to being spring loaded.
- Edge Geometry & Precision: Drawing on KAI's Seki City metallurgical heritage, the 5-blade system uses a progressive blade alignment.
- Sub-Micron Edges: KAI states that the blade tips are controlled to under 1 μm (micron), though all DE blades are sub-micron. They specifically note that this makes the edge smaller than a bacterium and claim these blades rival or exceed the sharpness of the surgical scalpels they also manufacture.
- Progressive Alignment: Instead of placing all five blades on the same plane, the blades are arranged in a progressive alignment. The blades get progressively closer to the skin as the stroke continues, which is designed to cut the hair gradually and minimize tugging.
- Minimalist Cartridge: The proprietary blade units are highly engineered to reduce waste, measuring just 1.7mm thick and weighing only 1.0 g; they are essentially a single unified metal structure. No lubricating strip, just plain razor. KAI specifically patented this "minimal blade-only exchange" (Patent JP7745615B) to eliminate the complex plastic housing, individual spring mounts, and pivot clips found in standard multi-blade cartridges. By building the five blades directly into that bare-bones metal chassis, they achieved an ultra-thin profile and reduced manufacturing costs. I suspect it was also necessary to achieve the precise progressive blade alignment.
- Longevity: The packaging claims 2 weeks on a cartridge – we shall see.
Balance and Handling: The weight distribution is a highlight. Most of the weight is concentrated toward the head, which provides a surprisingly confident feel through the stroke. The flexible head also traces the curves of the face nicely and worked perfectly on the head.
Built-in Shaving Angle: The built-in shaving angle seems to work exactly as designed. I’ve had issues with other flexible heads finding the right angle; with the Tholl, it was literally keep it flat to the skin and let the blades work.
Magnetic System: I think the magnetic cartridge swap is an improvement over the subtle stress of conventional 5-blade attachment mechanisms.
The next step is to see if the cartridge actually lasts 2 weeks.
Sorry - I can't get any images to load. Here is a link to the Kickstarter video:
