Leaf Razor Review: the metal head-shaver that wants to replace your plastic cartridges

I’ve been shaving my head and trimming body hair for a while, and like a lot of people I bounced between cheap cartridge razors and classic safety razors. Cartridges are easy but expensive and full of plastic, safety razors are cheap per blade but can be fiddly and less forgiving, especially on the back of the head. The Leaf Razor sits somewhere in the middle, so I was curious enough to buy the black version and actually use it for a few weeks instead of just reading comments.

Out of the box, it clearly doesn’t feel like a disposable toy. It’s a chunky metal razor with a pivoting head that takes safety razor blades you snap in half. So the promise is: the comfort of a cartridge, the cost and eco side of safety blades. That’s the theory. In practice, I used it mainly for head shaving and legs, plus a couple of body shaves to see how it handled trickier spots.

My routine with it was roughly: head shave every 3–4 days, legs once a week, and a quick body touch-up here and there. I tried it with the included Leaf blades first, then with some random double-edge blades I already had at home. I also played with different setups: 3 blades in, then 2 blades, to see how aggressive or mild it really felt.

It’s not perfect and it’s not cheap, but it’s definitely not a gimmick either. Some things it does very well, some bits are a bit annoying for the price. If you’re used to Mach3/Fusion or Harry’s on your head, and you’re thinking about switching to something metal and reusable, this is pretty much the type of user it’s aimed at. I’ll go through what actually works and what’s a bit meh, from a daily-use point of view, not as a collector’s item.

Let’s talk price, because that’s the sticking point for a lot of people. The Leaf Razor isn’t cheap. It costs as much as several packs of decent cartridge refills. So if you’re only looking at the initial hit, it feels expensive for “just a razor handle and some blades.” But once you factor in how cheap safety razor blades are, the math shifts. A pack of 100 double-edge blades (which becomes 200 half-blades) is often not that expensive, and that will last many months or even a year depending on how often you shave.

Compared to a subscription with something like Harry’s or Gillette, after a few months the Leaf starts to pay off. You’re not buying proprietary cartridges anymore; you just toss in whatever blades you like. I used Leaf’s own blades, then Derby, then a no-name brand. They all fit, and performance was close enough that I didn’t feel forced to stick to one brand. That freedom is a big part of the value here. If you’re the type who shaves your head several times a week, cartridge costs add up quickly, while blade costs stay low.

Where the value is less clear is if you only shave occasionally or if you’re very sensitive to the upfront cost. If you shave your legs once every couple of weeks and you’re happy with a basic disposable, you’re not going to see huge savings soon. Also, for the price, I would have liked a slightly easier cleaning design or maybe a stand included in the box. Knowing it’s made in China, not in the US, also makes the high price feel a bit harder to swallow if you were expecting a locally made premium tool.

Overall, I’d say the value for money is good if: you shave head/legs/body often, you want to cut cartridge waste and cost, and you’re ready to keep this razor for the long term. If you’re an occasional shaver or very budget-focused right now, it’s more of a nice upgrade than a strict money-saver in the short run.

The first thing you notice when you pick up the Leaf Razor is the weight. It’s not a light plastic stick; mine with blades is around that 75–80 g mark, which lines up with what other users measured. In hand, it feels closer to an old-school metal safety razor than a modern supermarket cartridge. If you’re used to flimsy plastic handles, the first couple of shaves feel odd. You don’t need to push; you basically just guide it and let the weight do the work.

The handle itself is not perfectly round, which is actually a good thing. When you’re shaving the back of your head and you can’t see what you’re doing, that slightly flattened profile helps you know where the head is pointing. It’s a small detail, but compared to a perfectly cylindrical handle that spins easily in a wet hand, it’s genuinely practical. The matte black finish on mine also adds grip. I never felt like it was going to shoot out of my hand, even when it was soapy.

The head design is where things get interesting. It’s quite large compared to a safety razor, more in line with a multi-blade cartridge. It holds up to three blades stacked in a curve, and the head pivots. That pivot is what makes it more forgiving on curves like the skull or knees. On my head, it helped a lot around the crown and the back, where you’d normally have to fiddle with angle on a fixed safety razor. The flip side is that the big head makes it harder to see exactly where the cutting edge is when you’re working near ears, sideburns, or tight corners.

In terms of build quality, it feels solid and well put together, but there are two small downsides. First, the weight that feels nice and premium at first can feel a bit too much if you’re doing long sessions or if you’re used to super light handles. Second, cleaning inside the head isn’t as plug-and-play as some modern cartridges; hair can build up between blades and around the slots. You can rinse most of it out easily, but every now and then you need to open it and give it a proper rinse or brush. Overall, I’d say the design is pretty solid and thought through, but not flawless.

Comfort-wise, this razor is clearly tuned for head and large area shaving. On my scalp, it felt very forgiving compared to a traditional safety razor. The pivoting head is doing a lot of the work here: instead of constantly chasing the perfect angle, you just keep light contact and move it, and the head adjusts. That made the back of my head a lot less stressful to shave. I had far fewer moments where I thought, “ok, if I mess this angle up I’m going to slice myself”. Over a few weeks, I didn’t get any serious nicks, just the odd tiny weeper when I rushed.

Loading three blades gives the closest and fastest shave, but also the most potential for irritation if you go over the same spot too many times. I found a good routine was: three blades for the main pass on the head and legs, then if my skin felt a bit sensitive on the neck or inner thighs, I’d drop to two blades (top two slots) for the next shave. With two blades, it’s definitely milder but still cuts well enough. The nice part is you can tune it without buying different razors or heads; you just change how many blades you load.

Where it’s less comfortable is tight or tricky areas. Around the ears, near the nose, and if you have a beard you want to keep, the big head can be a pain. It’s harder to see exactly where the first blade starts, and if any hair is a bit long (like beard edges or sideburns you didn’t trim), the razor tends to grab and tug instead of just gliding through. I had one or two moments where it caught longer beard hairs and that was not pleasant. It didn’t tear my skin, but it’s enough for me to avoid using it near any longer growth.

In short: for big, relatively flat or curved zones like scalp and legs, comfort is very good once you get used to the weight. The pivot helps a lot, and the multi-blade setup lets you get smooth results without many passes. For detailed work and areas with mixed hair lengths, it’s less friendly and you’re better off pairing it with a smaller razor or trimmer. If you’re hoping this will be your only tool for a styled beard and precise lines, that’s where it starts to feel like the wrong tool.

The Leaf Razor is fully metal, and that’s one of its big selling points. No cheap plastic frame buried under chrome paint. When you hold it, it feels more like a tool than a disposable. If you care about reducing plastic waste from shaving, this is a clear step up from the usual cartridge systems. You pair it with standard stainless steel blades, and the only waste you generate is the blades themselves, which you can collect in a blade tin and recycle.

The metal gives a strong durability impression. After several weeks of use, there’s no play in the pivot, no weird rattling, and the screw mechanism that opens the head still feels tight and precise. I’ve knocked it on the sink a couple of times by accident and there’s no obvious damage or chipping in the black coating. It doesn’t feel fragile at all. If you’re the type who wants to buy one razor and keep it for years, at least from a material point of view, this looks like it can take that kind of usage.

On the flip side, that solid metal comes with a trade-off: weight and maintenance. All-metal sounds great, but it’s heavier than it probably needs to be, especially when you think about modern alloys that could keep strength but drop some grams. When shaving a full head and legs in one go, I definitely felt my wrist more than with a plastic handle. It’s not painful or anything, just something you notice if you shave big areas regularly. Also, inside the head, between the middle and lower blade, gunk and soap scum can build up over time. Because it’s metal and not a flimsy cartridge, you can unscrew and clean it, but it’s one more chore compared to just tossing a used cartridge.

Overall, the materials are a strong point if your priority is durability and avoiding plastic. It feels like it will outlast most cartridge handles easily. Just keep in mind that you’re trading a bit of convenience and lightness for that tougher, more sustainable build. For me, that trade-off is acceptable, but at this price it would have been nice if they had optimized the weight and maybe smoothed out cleaning a bit more.

From a durability standpoint, the Leaf Razor feels like it’s in a completely different league than plastic cartridge handles. After several weeks of use, daily rinsing, and a couple of accidental drops into the sink, there’s no wobble, no loose parts, and the pivot mechanism still feels smooth. The black coating hasn’t flaked off, and there are no obvious scratches aside from the normal tiny marks you only see if you look very closely under light.

The screw that opens the head hasn’t shown any signs of stripping or softening. It still turns with the same resistance as on day one. That matters because you’re opening it regularly to change blades. If that screw was cheap, you’d feel it right away. The magnetic load assist also still works fine; blades snap into place and stay aligned. So mechanically, it really does give the impression of a razor you’ll keep for years rather than months.

Where you do need to put in some work is cleaning and prevention. Hair and soap build up between the blades, especially between the middle and lower slots. If you shave often and your hair is thick, you’ll probably want to do a deeper clean at least once a month: fully open the head, remove the blades, and rinse everything under hot water, maybe with an old toothbrush. It’s not difficult, but it’s more hands-on than just throwing away a plastic cartridge. If you ignore it, the pivot can feel a bit sticky and the gaps between blades will clog faster during shaves.

As long as you’re fine with a small maintenance routine, durability is a strong suit. The all-metal build should outlast multiple traditional handles, and the only real consumable is the blade. Just don’t expect it to be a zero-maintenance device. It’s more like owning a solid tool that you occasionally have to clean properly, not a disposable gadget you never think about.

So, in the box you get the Leaf Razor handle with the pivoting head and a pack of 10 single-edge blades. The version I have is the black one, but functionally they’re all the same. No fancy stand included, no big kit, just the razor and blades. The idea is simple: instead of buying proprietary cartridges, you load up to three standard safety razor blades (snapped in half) or compatible single-edge blades into the head. There’s a screw at the back that opens the head, and a magnet that helps the blades sit in place.

In day-to-day use, the main concept is: you choose how many blades to load. With three blades, it feels closest to a modern cartridge razor in terms of how fast it clears stubble. With two blades (top two slots), it becomes a bit milder and better for sensitive areas like upper thighs or around the neck. They recommend it mostly for head, legs, and body. After trying it on my face a couple of times, I agree with that. The head is quite big, so working around a mustache or under the nose isn’t ideal. For beards and detailing, their smaller Twig/Thorn makes more sense.

One thing that matters: blade compatibility. I tried the included Leaf blades, then snapped a few random double-edge blades (Derby and some cheap generic ones). All of them fit fine, no alignment drama. That’s good because it means you’re not locked into their refills if you don’t want to be. Blades are cheap if you buy in bulk, so over months it’s easy to see the cost difference compared to cartridge systems.

Overall, the product is pretty straightforward to understand: it’s a reusable metal handle with a pivoting multi-blade head that you feed with safety razor blades. No batteries, no vibration gimmicks, no lubrication strips. If you like simple mechanical stuff that just does its job, this fits that vibe. The question is whether it shaves well enough and is easy enough to maintain to justify the upfront price, and that’s where the details start to matter.

On pure shaving performance, it’s pretty solid, especially for head shaving. With three blades loaded, I can do a full head shave against the grain in a single proper pass, plus a few touch-ups around the base of the skull. Compared to a normal safety razor, it’s faster and more forgiving. Compared to a top-end cartridge like a Fusion, the closeness is on par for me, but with fewer issues with clogging. Even when my hair was around 4–5 mm, it didn’t choke instantly, though I did need to rinse it more often.

On my legs, it gave a close shave without needing to push down. The heavy handle and pivot help here: you can glide it slowly and it just mows through the hair. I didn’t have any razor burn, but I also used a basic shave gel, not just dry shaving. If you’re used to disposable razors that feel dull after a couple of full-leg shaves, the Leaf with fresh blades feels sharper for longer because you’re using actual safety blades, not whatever cheap metal they put in disposables.

Performance drops a bit with longer hair or inconsistent maintenance. If I waited more than about 5–6 days between head shaves, I noticed it struggled more and I had to spend extra time rinsing and sometimes opening the head to clear trapped hair between the middle and bottom blades. Also, like any razor, blade sharpness matters. With three blades, you can get away with them being slightly dull for one more shave, but you’ll feel more tugging and you’re tempted to go over areas multiple times, which leads to irritation. The good news is that safety blades are cheap, so changing blades often isn’t a wallet-killer.

Overall, I’d rate effectiveness as good to very good for what it’s designed for: regular head, leg, and body shaving on relatively short hair. It’s not some miracle tool that will cleanly shave a week-old dense beard in one pass, and it’s not perfect on super bumpy or tricky skin, but if you keep your hair at a consistent length and you change blades reasonably often, it gets the job done well and saves some time compared to classic DE razors.