Anyone using cheap Chinese razors?

[cyberdog]

The 3 piece has an 'alloy' head (cap & base) and brass handle. If you read the descriptions, it states 'brass + alloy'. The bronze colored on has the option of 3-Piece (Type A listed as alloy) or TTO (Type B listed as brass), so their TTO appears to be all brass (kind of a bargain today), but the 3 Piece is alloy for the head. (Still a good price and appears plenty heavy).

I've given my brothers a Bali TTO and a Weishi, both from China and they felt pretty darn good in the hand. Both like the shave, but are younger and don't have the heavier gray growth I get. I haven't tried them, but I'd suspect a good example shaves much like a Super-Speed, which they're actually a copy of.

The MingShi/QShaves from China are a real bargain and shave quite well, and VERY smoothly.

 

[les24preludes]

The 3 piece has an 'alloy' head (cap & base) and brass handle. If you read the descriptions, it states 'brass + alloy'. The bronze colored on has the option of 3-Piece (Type A listed as alloy) or TTO (Type B listed as brass), so their TTO appears to be all brass (kind of a bargain today), but the 3 Piece is alloy for the head. (Still a good price and appears plenty heavy).

The Fatip top cap is brass and weighs 15g. The Yintal top cap weighs 16g. The listing says electroplated brass, I know the handle is solid brass. I'm going with brass here for the top cap. If it were zamak it would be lighter than brass, 6.6g/cm3 to 8.7g/cm3. Maybe the bottom plate is zamak, though it does weigh 21g.

 

[Marlor]

I’ve got enough decent razors, and have no need for more. So I generally buy new ones because they’re novel, unique, or just to support further innovation in the industry.

So, if something new and innovative is released, I’ll consider it, regardless of where it’s made. But if it’s just a clone of an old design, made to a price-point, then I see no value there.

 

[cyberdog]

The base might the be 'alloy' portion, as the indents in the guard look mighty precise for being machined. - I don't think they're going to CNC at this price level. Now I want to go home and weigh the cap on my pearl out of curiosity, as it always feels heavier than my Old with a thick cap.

For comparison, an entire head assembly on a EJ89 is listed at around 29g per their page, so the Yintal is around 8g heavier for the entire assembly, but they don't give a breakdown between the cap and base plate.

 

[CJB3]

Vintage is a whole other kettle of fish. Of course nothing beats a $15 MMOC.

I bought an excellent condition MMOC on the Bay for $10. Shaved with it this morning—two pass BBS. It’s incredible that you can get such a high quality shaver at such a reasonable price.

 

[bdehne]

I have one of the Yintal TTOs in matte gold. It is a rebranded Weishi 9306. All brass and I believe PVD coated. Shaves like a 60s Gillette flare tip but weighs a few grams more. Its a fine razor from China.

 

[BBS-1]

I have one of the Yintal TTOs in matte gold. It is a rebranded Weishi 9306. All brass and I believe PVD coated. Shaves like a 60s Gillette flare tip but weighs a few grams more. Its a fine razor from China.

If it is like the Van Der Hagen then it should shave more so like a Red Tip Rocket if anything. It is possible they use different tooling for each customer so the shave could be different. Also I don't think Weishi makes the 9306C in brass except for customers like Yintal and Van Der Hagen.

 

[jmudrick]

I bought an excellent condition MMOC on the Bay for $10. Shaved with it this morning—two pass BBS. It’s incredible that you can get such a high quality shaver at such a reasonable price.

Correct . Now just imagine a $15 one

 

[CJB3]

Correct . Now just imagine a $15 one

I bet it’s 50% better.

 

[bdehne]

If it is like the Van Der Hagen then it should shave more so like a Red Tip Rocket if anything. It is possible they use different tooling for each customer so the shave could be different. Also I don't think Weishi makes the 9306C in brass except for customers like Yintal and Van Der Hagen.

I believe you are correct. I have read the 9306c aka VDH has an aluminum handle. It is in fact a few grams lighter than the gold and gun metal 9306 razors. I don't own the nickel plated 9306 so I don't know what it weighs.

 

[les24preludes]

The Fatip top cap is brass and weighs 15g. The Yintal top cap weighs 16g. The listing says electroplated brass, I know the handle is solid brass. I'm going with brass here for the top cap. If it were zamak it would be lighter than brass, 6.6g/cm3 to 8.7g/cm3. Maybe the bottom plate is zamak, though it does weigh 21g.

As TobyC pointed out elsewhere, the Yintal Bronze head is identical to the Maggard V3A head, except it weighs 37g and the Maggard is stated as 32g. So it could be that the Yintal has a brass top cap and a zamak base. Or maybe the alloy is some other type with added copper, though I don't know what that could be. Looks like even if the heads are made on the same production line, the specifications may be different.

 

[KBShave]

I have 3 bailis 3pcs, 1 long handle, 1 classic and the improved , 1 Weishi TTO and the Yintal Bronze mentioned above. The bailis and weishi are just a little too mild for me.I really love the Yintal Bronze it looks, shaves and feels like a much more expansive razor. Grab one for 12 bucks and wait a month for it to arrive it's worth it.

 

[santamariasteve]

This thread reminds me that an inexpensive razor can still be a pretty good shaver. "Back in the day" the Gillette Tech cost .49 cents.

 

[les24preludes]

I have 3 bailis 3pcs, 1 long handle, 1 classic and the improved , 1 Weishi TTO and the Yintal Bronze mentioned above. The bailis and weishi are just a little too mild for me.I really love the Yintal Bronze it looks, shaves and feels like a much more expansive razor. Grab one for 12 bucks and wait a month for it to arrive it's worth it.

The Yintal Bronze IS a "more expensive razor" in terms of quality. It's really well made and mostly brass. I regularly use the top cap and handle with other 2 stud heads like R41 and Fatip, and I use the handle on my ATT SE1.

 

[Parallax]

The razor that works best for you is the razor that works best for you. I don't think it necessarily correlates with price.

That having been said, @loot James lent me his Wolfman WR1 .94 and it is the best razor I've ever used. Of course the quality is outstanding but that's not what makes it work. It just happens to be really well suited to my face and shave preferences. Is it worth what I'd have to pay to get one? It is hard to justify, especially since the difference between it and other highly aggressive performers is small. On the one hand, I think just buy it and you'll have it for years, hand it down to your son, and someone can eventually sell it and get the money back. On the other hand, I'm like "Heck no; it's just silly to pay that much for a razor -- particularly when there are folks in the world who don't have enough to eat."

 

[les24preludes]

Let's analyse the Wolfman experience a little. If we leave out static factors like pride of ownership and craftsmanship and concentrate on the shave itself, then we have what for the sake of argument we could call a "5 minute event", if the razor is in your hands for that time. Five minute events can be so thrilling that people cross continents to experience them - a downhill ski run, your favourite football team scoring a goal, Horowitz playing a couple of Mazurkas, Ray Charles singing a ballad, your favourite band performing your favourite song live. Heck - even a 10 second event can be thrilling. That's Usain Bolt running 100 metres faster than anyone on earth.

So let's say you have a micro "thrill" every 10 seconds of using a "perfect" razor. That's 30 micro thrills in 5 minutes. Could be the balance, the feel, the cut, all kinds of micro satisfactions that add up to one big satisfaction. And remember we're using more than one sense here - sight, sound and feel are all happening. When you actually think about it, 5 minutes can be an awfully long time when our senses are buzzing away at full stretch.

So can a shave with a Wolfman be worth hundreds of dollars? If it's that much better purely as a 5 minute event, then yes, I can well believe it can.

 

[Badgerstate36]

Ive used most of the cheap Chinese razors and they do the job just fine. You could say that the quality of construction is questionable, as is the quality control but most of the time theyre just fine.
One thing to remember is that most of the cheaper TTOs are all made by Weishi or Baili, so you have to be careful when it comes to buying, "US branded" razors. If it looks like a Baili or Weishi but costs $30 or more, you might as well just buy a Weishi for $15.

 

[gigetto]

Hmmm interesting post.
In my opinion i respect all the kind of razors, cheap and expensive. Cheap like Yaqi are cheap only in the price, because my gunmetal Mellon if it would be a remarked razor could be payed twice or more the price I've payed (my english is scholastic i hope no wrongs or mistakes...).
High end razors are expensive and give a pleasure of ownerrship different, but a ATT Calypso is not infinite better than a Feather Popular...
In medio stat virtus, German razors and the new American Models are not too expensive but affordable and high end products, for example GC, PAA Ascension, Rex Ambassador (quit expensive but very well made)

 

[mrdoug]

I started with one of those, which I bought on Amazon. It worked very well, until I got into wanting to try everything else. Lol.

Just picked up a Baili at the end of December. Rose gold TTO, 10 bucks on eBay. Wanted it as a travel razor... Something I wouldn't mind losing (for the very few vacations I ever take).

I didn't know what rose gold look like. Well, I found out soon enough that it is quite different than gold, and very much jumps out at you (I mean that in the worst way... I think it's fairly ugly).

Thinking on this, I realized it was a blessing. I can't imagine finding a hotel room that has rose gold fixtures. This razor should literally stand out no matter where it is. So, not only is it cheap if I lose it, it stands out enough that I likely won't.

Now I still need to try it to make sure it will do a good enough job during those away times. [emoji846]

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[mrdoug]

Hmmm interesting post.
In my opinion i respect all the kind of razors, cheap and expensive. Cheap like Yaqi are cheap only in the price, because my gunmetal Mellon if it would be a remarked razor could be payed twice or more the price I've payed (my english is scholastic i hope no wrongs or mistakes...).

Wow! I don't know how I didn't know, but I never knew Yaqi made razors. I have two of their brushes, they are awesome.

A quick search shows quite a few to choose from on AliExpress (and they look amazing). Goodness, this makes it hard not to buy more more more. Lol.

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