The Farmhand Razor: A Budget Henson ++ and +++ Alternative
Doug’s soap base for Adopted Acres is one of the best on the market. If you’ve tried his Grand Champion 2.0 base, you already know. But that’s not what this post is about. I want to talk about one of the razors he sells on his site, and why I think it belongs on your list.
Before I get into the razor itself, let me tell you what problem it’s solving.
What Henson Left Open
Henson made shaving easy for a lot of people. Fixed angle, so you’re not hunting for the sweet spot every pass. People either love it or they don’t, but for most folks starting out, it’s a genuinely nice razor to learn on.
Henson used to sell three plates: mild (the “plus”), medium (“plus plus”), and aggressive (“plus plus plus”). At some point, probably because most of their sales were the mild, they trimmed the aluminum lineup down to just that one plate, from what I could find on their site. If you want the ++ or +++ geometry, you’re looking at the $250 titanium version. That’s a real jump for most people.
If you like how the Henson shaves but want more blade feel, more exposure, without paying titanium money, a few razors have shown up in the last few months trying to answer that.
Tier One and the Taisoto DUO
First is the Tier One. I’ve done a full review of that one already. It’s got two sides, one milder than the other, so if the Henson mild feels too soft, you flip it over.
The Taisoto DUO does the same thing, one side softer than the second. Both give you a mild side to start on and a sharper side once you’re ready.
That two-sided setup is great for someone new to the hobby. Start mild, step up when you’re ready, all in one razor. But most experienced wet shavers don’t love it. When we shave, we switch sides constantly, partly so we’re not thinking about which side we already used, partly to keep the blade wear even on both edges. A dual-sided razor works against that habit.
That’s where the Farmhand comes in. Both sides are the same.
Doug’s Farmhand vs the ACR1
The Farmhand sells on Doug’s Adopted Acres site. Head geometry looks a lot like the Henson. After shaving with it for about a week, I’d put it right between the Henson medium (++) and the Henson aggressive (+++). If you’re an experienced shaver who finds the Henson mild a little soft, this one’s worth a look.
I also want to put it up against the ACR1 from Cajun Blade, which came out not long before this and I’ve already reviewed on the channel. The ACR1 runs $30, about $5.50 more than the Farmhand. It gave me a BBS shave, no argument there, but it asked for more technique than I expected. The blade exposure felt like a lot for a beginner.
So the Farmhand is the more forgiving pick of the two. Not for a total beginner, mind you. If you’ve never shaved DE before, start with the Henson Mild, the DE1, or the Taiso. But if you’ve got a few months in and you’re ready to step up without babysitting which side of the razor you used last, the Farmhand’s my pick.
One more thing: Tobin, who runs Tobin’s Throwbacks, also reviewed this razor. Worth watching if you want a second opinion.
Face Lathering, on a Dare
For soap, I’m using Rookie Card, one of Doug’s scents on that Grand Champion 2.0 base. I’m also switching up how I lather.
I normally lather in a bowl with a synthetic brush, and I’ve got a reason for that. A bunch of us hang out on a Discord server: Wes from Tennessee Whiskey Shaving, Eric, who runs Cajun Blade, Doug, Damon from Rabbit Shaves, Nick from El Masculino Shaves, and Chad from Chad Makes Wet Shaving. They all face lather with natural hair brushes, and they give me grief about the bowl. Some back-and-forth over the last few days turned into a challenge: face lather with a badger brush. Chad, this one’s for you.
I don’t top load my soaps. I don’t want water sitting in them between uses, not with how many soaps I’ve got in rotation. So I scooped some of the Rookie Card into a stainless bowl, squeezed out a badger brush that had been soaking (26mm Finest from Sterling), and loaded it from the bowl the way you’d top-load, with a spot of water to pick up the last of the soap. Then I went to my face.
Funny thing about face lathering videos: when Chad records his, the lathering part eats half the runtime. There’s a running joke where I comment on his videos with the timestamp where the actual shave starts. Let’s see if I do better or worse.
One day’s growth on my face for this one. Doesn’t look like much on camera in this light, but it’s there. Trust me.
Building the Lather
Doug mentioned on a forum once that he washes his face with soap before shaving, and it makes sense to me, especially given my routine. My last shower of the day is late at night, so by the time I’m shaving in the morning my face has picked up oils and dirt overnight. Washing first just makes sense. I used a gentle cleanser, rinsed, patted dry, and got set up.
I usually edit out the whole lather-building process. Not this time. Chad and the rest of the crew needed to see I wasn’t cheating, no lather built somewhere else and swapped in.
Here’s why I don’t usually face lather. I don’t like putting water straight on my face or straight into my soaps. And I typically run three and a half to four passes, and when all your soap is loaded into the brush instead of sitting in a bowl, you can run short partway through.
I built it up slowly, added a little more when it looked thin, and got there. You don’t need a mountain of lather on your face, just enough for glide, cushion, and slickness through the last pass. Six minutes and twelve seconds to build it, which is roughly a third of what Chad usually takes. Sorry, Chad, had to say it.
The First Pass
Razor’s loaded with a fresh Feather blade, first use; haven’t run Feathers in a while. Just like the Henson, you find your angle and let the head do the work. That’s the thing I keep coming back to with this razor: it’s more forgiving than most razors aimed at someone stepping up from a beginner blade.
You do need a good soap under it. The residual slickness from that Grand Champion 2.0 base held up through the whole pass. First pass down, rinsed off, and on to the next round.
Two and a half passes still to go, and I get into the full verdict later in the video. But the early read holds up: if you liked the Henson’s ease but wanted a little more bite without stepping up to titanium, put the Farmhand on your list.
