A Tale of Two Razors (Micro Touch One Update)

I reviewed the Micro Touch One razor shortly after receiving a review unit and additionally at one year. Both reviews were positive. Now it's been 17 months ... and it's Tango Down Micro Touch One.

Last week I finished shaving and went through my usual razor maintenance routine -- I always remove the blade and thoroughly clean and dry the razor before storing it in its convenient little case. But this time when I twisted the handle to open the blade area, the handle didn't want to twist. When I applied a little force, the internal shaft that turns to open and close the blade area snapped. End of razor.

Has my opinion of the Micro Touch One gone from positive to negative? Not really. At the retail price of $19.99 (plus shipping and handling if you don't buy it at a store), the cost for the razor spread over 17 months would be about what I would have spent on disposable razors or on bi-monthly blade deliveries from Dollar Shave Club. So I can't say it's a bad deal. And who knows? Maybe the bust was my fault (maybe I shouldn't have been opening the thing up every time) or maybe this was a rare defective unit.

But a funny thing happened on my way to replacing the defunct Micro Touch One. Since I still had a nice stock of blades, I decided to look for a new handle instead of switching razor styles. I went to eBay. I found one that looked a lot like the Micro Touch One, for $6.75 including shipping (not a referral/affiliate/commision link!).

Let me emphasize: A LOT like the Micro Touch One.

No, I am not a good photographer. But you should be able to tell from this photo that even the plastic cases appear to have come from the same mold. Inside the case, the only difference is that the Micro Touch One case's plastic interior is covered with red velour.

The razors? So far as I can tell, they are identical right down to the details of the knurling and the brand of blades that came with them (Dorco) ... well, except of course for the facts that the Vincent Double Edge Shaver isn't broken yet, and that including shipping and handling, it comes to less than 1/3 the cost of a Micro Touch One. If it lasts six months it will have "paid for itself" versus the alternatives I'd likely have chosen from.

And the Engrish on the box it came in is precious: "A wonderful pair of scissors that creates a world of new expression. Centrical summit formation that prevents twisting of the blade and offers fine cutting especially for hard hair."