The M5 Magnum razor is made in the U.S.A. and sells for much less. It was also rated best razor of the year by Men's Health.
I’ve been saying for a long time that buying goods made in the U.S.A. does not cost more than buying imported goods (as most people assume it will), and nothing proves this point better than the razor.
Razors have gotten pretty fancy over the years. They’ve gone from two blades all the way up to five blades on a single cartridge (or are they up to six already?). And as the number of blades has gone up, so has the cost of those blades. They often want $20 or more for a pack of 8 cartridges at the pharmacy.
But recently, I came across an American-made brand of razor that is the best shave I have ever had, and it costs about half of what you would pay for a leading brand of razor like Gillette or Schick. Now these brands make good razors too, but they are mostly imported, and boy are they expensive. If they are saving money by manufacturing blades overseas, very little of that savings has been passed on to the consumer.
The razor I now use is the M5 Magnum made by The Personna American Safety Razor Company. This razor is every bit as fancy as the other brands. It has five blades for regular shaving and an inverted safety blade on the edge for precision trimming. It’s got vitamin E and aloe for a smooth glide. It’s got a pivoting head that adjusts to the contour of your face. It even comes in plastic case that closes up and is very handy for traveling. What the M5 Magnum doesn’t offer is sticker shock.
The M5 Magnum consistently costs far less than the competition. You can buy an M5 Magnum with 20 cartridges on Amazon for $23.99. That comes out to just about $1.20 per cartridge.
Here’s the competition. Wallgreens Pharmacy is currently selling an 8-pack of Gillette Fusion Power cartridges, which are almost exactly the same products, for $23.99. That comes out to just about $3.00 per cartridge.
I’m not the only one who thinks the M5 Magnum is a great razor. Even though this razor costs significantly less than the competition, the M5 Magnum was the brand ranked best razor by Men’s Health magazine in 2010.
People just assume that American-made goods have to cost more because they are made by American workers, but that is simply is not the truth, and the M5 Magnum razor proves it. There are lots of great American products that are made in the U.S.A. and beat the competition on price. Sometimes they beat the competition soundly.
So, before you assume that buying American-made brands will cost more, give it a try for yourself. When you start buying American, you will find many high-quality American products that are at the price you would pay for an import or even below it.
Until next time, here’s to doing what we can to support our country by buying American.
Randy
I have been using M5’s for a few months now. In the past I have used the Gillette Mach 3 & Fusion. If I were to rank them in terms of perfomance the Mach 3 would be #1, and the Fushion & M5 would be tied for #2. You just can’t beat the price of the M5, and knowing it’s made in America makes it an easy choice for my future shaving needs.
Even better: buy a safety razor then use Personna’s double-edged blades. You’ll still be using American-made gear but will save a fortune. I bought the razor for about $50, then buy the blades in quantity at about 44 cents each! The cost of the razor pays for itself in six months. Razor companies like Gillette and Schick make all their money in the blade refills. Stop throwing your money away and get an old-school safety razor. Shaves just as well (don’t believe the marketing BS; you don’t need a double-triple-septet blade to get a close shave) and put that money into something more important.
I bought a magnum razor that was defective, and since it was on sale the place I bought it from wouldn’t take the return. I had contacted the Magnum, which took me days to find a simple email address and then they sent me this email-
Hi,
Thanks for reaching out to us with your recent experience with your Magnum 3 and giving us the opportunity to make it right. We are happy to send you our new razor Magnum 5.
Customer satisfaction is important to us. If, for any reason, a consumer feels that our high quality standards were not met, we ask that the product be returned to our Quality Control Laboratory for examination.
We are sending you the return label, shipping instructions and the new razor.
Please expect it to arrive between 10-14 business days.
Thanks!
Jennifer Sukhnauth
Consumer Affairs
Energizer Personal Care
00155A
If you wish to respond to this email, please email us at PrivateBrandGroup@CustomerFollowup.info and include your reference number: 00155A
well I never received anything in the mail and the email address they told me to contact isn’t even valid. So now I have nothing against Buying american, but this company I wouldn’t buy from if you even gave me the money to do so.
And if you go to their website now, at http://www.asrco.com any of their contact links come up broken, so it’s now impossible to even contact them, American proud…I don’t think so
I purchased this product as I needed a new razor and wanted something made in the USA which is a difficult task. The shave is commendable and does the job. In terms of made in USA, however, it appears that only the blades are made in the USA. Fine print included with packing shows that the handle is made in Taiwan. Again, good shave, glad at least part is made in USA, but this product is not completely MIUSA. To be fair, outside of the very expensive Cobra Classic from Classic shaving, the Mag 5 seems to be the only game in town and the Cobra is made for use with Feather blades which are made in Japan…
This is a good example of how when buying American, sometimes you just have to do the best you can. I noticed that the handle to these blades wasn’t made in USA. But for razor blades, it’s the blades you have to buy over and over that are expensive, not the handle that you buy just once. Those are made in USA, which is why I chose this brand. I would have prefered a 100% made in USA product, but sometimes you have to settle for something mostly made in USA, and that’s okay. We can’t stop trying to buy made in USa when we can’t get everything we need made in USA.
I just got a new batch of 20 blades on Amazon.com for a much better price than buying some of the common razor brands.
Thanks for commenting.
Randy
I hope that my comment did not infer in any way that we should stop trying to buy usa even if only only a portion of a product is miusa. By all means we should do what we can. My point was only that this product, which I am entirely happy with in terms of function, was not entirely miusa as I presumed from the article. It really is an eye opener to see how difficult it can be when searching for every day products miusa. Kudos for your efforts in this regard.
I agree with Rob. I’m planning to buy an American-made straight razor by Hart Steel. Take care of a straight razor and it’ll last for 100 years.
I was excited to read this, but then went to the website and found this: Today, Personna American Safety Razor Company has manufacturing facilities located around the world and is one of the largest producers of shaving, medical, and industrial blades. Does that mean they are NOT American made?
Thanks for posting this. I decided tonight to search online for razors. Never thought of buying a razor online before, but I’ve been p-o’d the last few times I’ve tried to buy razors at ‘brick-and-mortar’ stores – grocery, pharmacy, walmart or target – they all seem to have the same selection of either overpriced gillette, schick razors, or really cheap, crappy disposable razors. And, most of them aren’t made in the USA.
So, I was looking for other brands, preferably Made in the USA, that are cheaper. I’m definitely going to give the M5 Magnum, or maybe their M3 if that is still for sale, cheaper, a try. Thanks for the tip about them. I’d *really* like to buy more MIUSA products, but buying in stores, it’s often very hard to do. I think I’m going to do a lot more shopping online, and try to buy stuff made here, or AT least in Canada if I must. Rather give my business to the Canucks than third-world sweatshops.
Where can I purchase the M5 razor in or near Tuscarawas County Ohio?
I am going to buy some of the M5 ravors online today if I can find them.
Thank you for the post. Much appreciated.
Gary
I tried the M5, and was happy to be buying a made in the USA product. I found that the razor and handle didn’t stay securely together. It popped off frequently when tapping against the edge of the sink, and eventually, couldn’t pull a fresh blade out of the refill. Disappointed.
Where can I purchase these blades?
Haven’t ever used this razor. So am not able to comment on the quality of the shave it provides. But the one comment which implies that Gillette and Schick blades are not made in the USA is not correct. After reading this I checked the packages of Schick triple blade disposals I use. They are all made in the USA.The disposable Schick triple blade razors are just over $1 each when you can find a bonus pack at Walmart of 5 + 2 razors. Other then that they are about $2 each.
Doubt if I will try an M5 since all the quint bladed razors I have tried hd more razor pull which added up to a less then gentle glide over the face. I find the triple blade the best. If the M5 Magnum were produced as an M3 less then magnum that I would try them instantly.