Electric shavers and replacement blades

The best-selling electric shavers on Amazon are Panasonic's Lamdash (ラムダッシュ) and Braun. Panasonic splits its range by blade count into 3-blade, 5-blade and 6-blade models; Braun splits by series, like 9, 7 and 5.

For Panasonic, the letter at the end of the model number is the generation; the 6-blade ES-LS9N, LS9P and LS9Q came out one after another. Neighboring generations often differ very little. The only change from the LS9N to the LS9P is a shorter wait before auto-lock kicks in, so just buy the older one when its price drops.

The same model often comes in two versions, with or without a cleaning and charging station. The station needs its cleaning fluid replaced regularly, and both brands' main models can be rinsed under water anyway, so if you don't want one more consumable, get the one without.

Factor in the replacement blades too. Panasonic sells the outer foil and inner blade separately, and recommends replacing the foil about once a year and the inner blade every two years. Braun uses a cassette that combines the foil and inner cutter, and recommends replacing it every year and a half. You can look up the blade model in the manual or on the official site; many are shared across several generations of the same series, so check before you order.

Blades are also best bought from Amazon itself or the brand's official store; a lot of the cheap ones from third-party sellers are non-genuine compatibles.