Bait and switch on Amazon with Lord razors

Regular readers on here will know of my high regard for the Lord L5 razor, made in Egypt. Though very simple it is well made and delivers a very fine shave. This makes me very enthusiastic about the concept of owning their L6 razor, which is even more highly regarded. The L6 has a different, Merkur like, head with scallops in the guard bar. Lord call the L6 the “Premium” razor and it is more expensive than the L5.

On the Lord website you can clearly see the “Metallic Model” L5 razor and the L122 packaging that it comes in. You can also see the L6 “Safety Razor Premium” and the L1822 packaging that it comes in.

So when on Amazon I found a Lord Premium razor with a picture of the L1822 packaging I ordered one. I was double convinced that it was the right razor because it was more expensive than the L5, which you can pick up very cheaply on eBay. So you can imagine my disappointment when the parcel arrived and it wasn’t the L6 that I had ordered, it was the cheaper L5 that I already own. Obviously I immediately wrote to the supplier who replied saying that the L5 and L6 were the same! A more forceful missive from me elicited a refund and they told me to keep the razor.

Back on Amazon I found another supplier advertising the Lord Premium razor with a picture of the L6 in its L1822 packaging. Amazingly they also delivered the cheaper L5 in the L122 packaging. This time I was more forceful in my initial complaint and received an immediate refund.

It is good that both these traders have now changed their adverts. To claim they were selling one thing and then to supply another is plainly illegal. Slightly worrying the first vendor said they had sold hundreds of the razors with no complaint. Presumably the customers were just unaware of the different models.

What I think has possibly happened here is that when the vendors first advertised they really were selling the Premium L6 razor in the L1822 packaging. But when they restocked they found that they could buy the L5 more cheaply and thus make more profit. And that the customers wouldn’t notice.

Meanwhile I still don’t have the Lord L6 razor that I want.

7 Comments


  1. Bruce, I do believe that you have officially gone batshit insane :p


  2. Yeah, because expecting to get what you paid for is mental! 🙁

    Seriously, does the Lord razor take a blade like the one in the picture, or is that just a marketing graphic, and it takes standard DE blades? I understand there were lots of different-sized and shaped blades for safety razors back in the day, but only the standard Gillette one seems to have survived.


  3. Hi Ian,

    Yes the blades are standard these days, every double edged (DE) blade made in the world will fit every DE razor. This is part of the joy of real shaving, you can mix and match to get what you want. The exact opposite of the walled garden of uniformity imposed by the big global shaving companies.
    The patent wars on DE blades finished in the early 1930s, there were a few non standard hold outs in the 1940s, but since then everything fits. I can put a 2010 blade into a 1903 Gillette and shave with it.
    The Lord picture is a marketing graphic, the shape is right, it just lacks the cut outs.


  4. Try http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/lordrazors.html

    Gary has the Premium Lord and he is honest.


  5. At long last I have an L6, bought from a forum member.

    The Lord L6 is a different world to the Lord L5.

    The handles are identical.
    The L5 has a Tech copy head that is quite thin and light and seems to be nickel plated. All just like a Tech. In fact it is an almost exact clone of an aluminium handled Gillette Tech.
    The L6 head is pretty much exactly the same as that on my Merkur 38 and Merkur travel razors. It is heavy and very nicely chromed. The blade location is with the two pins that go through the bottom plate.


  6. Connaught now stock Lord razors: http://connaughtshaving.com/lordrazors.html


  7. I have a Lord Smart Razor, L625, from Connaught. Tried it with several blades and tried to like it, but I like a Slim or Super Adjustable better.

    Recently I found a Lord L5 “Tech” head with blade in its package that had been lying around. The handle had been on a Gillette travel Tech head.

    After trying the full Lord L5 combo with the Lord Super Chrome blade and one or two others. I’ve decided I like the Lord “Tech” better than the Lord Smart, and almost as much as a Gillette adjustable.

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