Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium Body March 2010

The Quattro Titanium Body is the latest in Wilkinson Sword’s range of battery-powered two-in-one razor and body groomers. The Body costs £9.99 and replacement Quattro Titanium Blades are £6 for four.

The Body is aimed squarely at men who want to shave and trim both facial and body hair, and it comes with plenty of features to help do both. At one end there’s a multi-blade razor for stubble and at the other you’ll find a battery powered trimmer with a guard for dealing with longer hairs.

On first impressions, it’s very similar to the Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium Precision, which we tested in 2009. To find out how the Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium Precision scored in our tests read our full men's razors review. 

The only noticeable difference between the new Quattro Titanium Body and the earlier Quattro Titanium Precision appears to be the size of the trimmer – the cutting head is about 50% wider on the Quattro Titanium Body than on the Precision, making it more effective for trimming beards and body hair. But the cutting head is still very narrow and, for the hirsute among us, a separate beard-trimmer or body groomer would make life easier.

The razor comes with four spring-loaded blades on the front for shaving stubble and one blade on the back for edging side-burns and beards. The main razor blades are positioned behind seven wire guards to help avoid cuts and nicks. Above the blades you’ll find a lubra-strip to help with razor-glide and below there’s a strip of soft, contoured rubber to help flatten stubble.

The Precision uses the same Wilkinson Sword Quattro Titanium Blades as the Body and when we tested it in 2009 we found it gave a close and comfortable shave.

The razor blade can be removed from the handle with a quick release button. This works well and attaching a blade is easy – it simply pushes into place and is held there by two catches.

It’s quite bulky - the handle is wider than most razors as it needs to accommodate the battery. The grips on the handle are designed to allow the Quattro Titanium Body to be used equally easily as a razor or as a trimmer.

The trimmer comes with a guard that can be set to cut three separate lengths of hair, or, if you’re looking to shave it all off, removing the guard completely will give you a smooth finish. But it’s hard to get a very close and neatly trimmed beard with the guard on and you run the risk of trimming too much if you remove it.

Pros: Close and comfortable shave, trimmer-guard settings, easy-to-replace blades

Cons: Quite bulky, standalone beard trimmers and body groomers will do a better job of trimming and grooming.