How to assemble a safety razor

Use our guide to assemble your plastic-free metal razor.

The good news is, all-metal razors are relatively easy to assemble. These zero waste razors are only made from a few parts. Other than the tricky part of handling the razor blade itself, it’s not much different to sharpening a pencil.

Step 1: Layout your pieces

Metal double-edged razors typically come fully made. But occasionally they come in pieces. If they are already made it’s a bit of an advantage as, in taking it apart to insert the blade, you can see how the unit is assembled.

If unmade, lay out your pieces as below, including your metal razor blade. Just take extra care when handling the blade, and for now, keep it in its protective wrapper.

If the razor is assembled, first check that there is no blade in the razor head. You will be able to see the blade poking through the sides. If you are unsure, take a piece of material and gently pull the blade across it as if you were shaving it. If there is no resistance, then there is no blade.

Gripping the razor head with one hand, turn the handle as if you were holding a screwdriver and want to unscrew something. The direction is anti-clockwise.

Quite quickly you should see the handle coming apart from the head. Place the handle down, and separate the parts of the head.

Step 2: Inserting the razor blade

With the razor unit in pieces, you will see that the head is made of two parts. A semi-circular curved side with bars on the underside, and a flatter side with holes in it. The side with bars is the top, and the flat side is the base.

Taking care not to touch the edges of the blade, carefully take the razor blade out of its casing. You will see it has holes in the middle. These should correspond to holes on the base of the razor head. Align the holes, with the curved edges of the base facing upwards (as in our photos).

With your other hand, take the curved part of the razor head and place it over the top. Bars in the underside of the curved part should go through the holes and form a tight fit. Check to see if your razor head looks like our completed razor image, with the underside of the base fitting neatly into the top. 

Again, and throughout, take care not to touch the sharp sides of the blade.

Step 3: Attach the handle

Holding the sides of the razor head, screw the handle onto the base of the razor head. Tighten until there is no give in the handle, and it takes a fair amount of force to loosen the grip.

Metal razor maintenance

It’s worth keeping your metal razor in good condition, as you probably want it to last a lifetime. Some do!

Keep it dry and clean. You don’t need to take it apart after each shave. But when you change the blades, give it a quick clean inside and out.

During shaving, you can use a leather strop (ours is called the Blaidmat, and is the only custom shave strop for bathroom use) to clean the debris and gunk off your razor. This will have the benefit of helping have a cleaner shave, and also hone the edges of the blade to keep it sharper for longer.

Shave oil on the strop will mean it works better at cleaning the razor heads. See our guide to using a Blaidmat for more information.

Plastic-free shaving

Many people are turning to a double-edged metal razor as a zero waste shaving alternative to a plastic razor. If you want to complete your shaving suite of plastic-free products, please take a look at our plastic-free shaving and skincare range.