Bad Yaqi Brush

[sharpstar90]

I have been wanting to get a beautiful Yaqi brush for about a year now. They stand out as some of the most beautiful brushes around offered at an affordable price. I finally scraped some money together and ordered three, two Mokas and a Purple Haze. I got the first one today.

Man, what a disappointment! Instead of the yellow fading into dark brown, the resin handle was just a solid amber that someone swirled a toothpick into. Whoever made this resin handle totally phoned it in. Check out the images below and you'll see what I mean.

I won't drag the retailer through the mud. It comes in a black box and you can't see the brush unless you take it out of the package. They might not have even seen it before they sent it out. I just hope the other two don't look as dissimilar to the pictures as this one does.

Has anyone else gotten a jacked up Yaqi? I got a Purple Haze as well and I'm really hoping I didn't waste my money on a solid purple handle with no art to it.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

Those "stock" photos were photographed to look their best, with lots of light from underneath. Your brush doesn't look bad to me! I've had 2 Yaqi's and the knots were horrible so I sent them back. The knot on yours looks perfect from here. Where's this toothpick you speak of?

 

[rockviper]

A pic lit from underneath of behind should show some colour variance in the handle.

 

[sharpstar90]

Those "stock" photos were photographed to look their best, with lots of light from underneath. Your brush doesn't look bad to me! I've had 2 Yaqi's and the knots were horrible so I sent them back. The knot on yours looks perfect from here. Where's this toothpick you speak of?

In more intense light, you can see where someone inserted a toothpick (or something) into the resin when it was wet and swirled it around. But they failed to move much of any color around when they did it. They also did not add any yellow resin to the top to create a color gradation. It's just a poor imitation of the examples.

 

[sharpstar90]

A pic lit from underneath of behind should show some colour variance in the handle.

I still don't think it's all that great.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

In more intense light, you can see where someone inserted a toothpick (or something) into the resin when it was wet and swirled it around. But they failed to move much of any color around when they did it. They also did not add any yellow resin to the top to create a color gradation. It's just a poor imitation of the examples.

So if you shine a bright fluorescent light under the base of the brush, there's no yellow at all? Those clear resin handles are tough, some look amazing and some are boring, that's been my experience anyways. I would give it a shave and see how it performs! If it does well, you just need to mod your medicine cabinet to have some focused lighting in there, that's all.

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

I still don't think it's all that great.

Dude, that brush looks awesome in the right light and better than stock, just use it!

 

[sharpstar90]

Dude, that brush looks awesome in the right light and better than stock, just use it!

So you think I should manage my expectations? You think this is an exceptable amount of variance?

 

[BudgetShaverGuy]

So you think I should manage my expectations? You this is an exceptable amount of variance?

I am not going to expect you to like it based on my input, but those clear handles are all going to be different, it's like a snapshot of a lava lamp in action! Even the two in the stock photo don't look remotely like each other, that's all I'm sayin'. Yours looks very FLASH to me.....

 

[sharpstar90]

I am not going to expect you to like it based on my input, but those clear handles are all going to be different, it's like a snapshot of a lava lamp in action! Even the two in the stock photo don't look remotely like each other, that's all I'm sayin'. Yours looks very FLASH to me.....

View attachment 1090113

I understand your point. I can still think it over. Thanks. That's an awesome illustration, I haven't seen that one before!

I still have 2 more Yaqi's coming. Maybe I'll be impressed with those.

 

[Timeclo]

It seems like there are less brown swirls in the amber portion. That said, I think it still looks pretty. Every handle is a different pour so there has to be some variations. If you want, you can probably dispute the purchase as it was different from the stock picture but it'll be more work for you.

 

[Atlantic59]

You know those photos of food you see in magazine ads? They look amazing, but the food you actually get looks nothing like that.

I've got three Yaqis (Sagrada Familia, Purple Haze and Mysterious Space). They look at least as good in person as in the photos. The Mysterious Space looks better in person, actually. They look better with natural light shining on them.

 

[sharpstar90]

Yeah, I know about food photos and that was my fist thought. We accept a certain amount of that. But I got really stoked about the Moka and when I took it out of the box, it looked like a solid amber handle rather than a swirl. Not the same brush as advertised.

I don't wanna be "that guy" so I'm leaning towards keeping it. It's just a really boring example of what I know Yaqi is capable of.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I must be missing something. I'm not sure which brush is yours but all of 'em look okay to me.

Mostly in considering brushes I'm impressed with good knots and great performance. That's not saying handles can't be really cool looking.

I'm not being critical of the OP. It's just that I don't see the problem.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[nav]

I have been wanting to get a beautiful Yaqi brush for about a year now. They stand out as some of the most beautiful brushes around offered at an affordable price. I finally scraped some money together and ordered three, two Mokas and a Purple Haze. I got the first one today.

Man, what a disappointment! Instead of the yellow fading into dark brown, the resin handle was just a solid amber that someone swirled a toothpick into. Whoever made this resin handle totally phoned it in. Check out the images below and you'll see what I mean.

I won't drag the retailer through the mud. It comes in a black box and you can't see the brush unless you take it out of the package. They might not have even seen it before they sent it out. I just hope the other two don't look as dissimilar to the pictures as this one does.

Has anyone else gotten a jacked up Yaqi? I got a Purple Haze as well and I'm really hoping I didn't waste my money on a solid purple handle with no art to it.

I can see why you are disappointed.
I have/had all 3 of the brushes you have ordered.

I have 2 purple haze and while they are slightly different, both are gorgeous!

The moka two band has a wonderful brown swirl in the amber and actually looks like coffee in a moka pot...definitely stunning!

The moka synthetic has the least amount of swirls. More than yours but much less than the moka two band.

My suggestion is, if the purple haze and moka two band are to your expectation then you should accept the moka synthetic as is because even from my experience, it has the least swirls.

If the others also turn out without swirls then you should contact Yaqi.

On another note, I have all the Yaqi "mysterious space" variants. The handle on the silvertip 24mm fan is dull and unpolished whereas the rest are polished and give a clear cosmos look.

But I didn't bother to contact Yaqi because the brush is still really nice and the knot is killer!!

 

[Fukushima Daiichi]

I think you are making up excuses to fuel your B.A.D.

 

[lurchbrian]

I think you have the idea of the mocha wrong its called the mocha as for the shape resembling the mocha coffee pot now it also depends on how strong yo like your mocha .

 

[cyclingsteveb]

I've got 7 Yaqi brushes:

26mm Yaqi Moka 2 band badger
24mm Yaqi Giotto Synthetic brush
24mm Yaqi Sagrada Familia
30mm Yaqi Monster Barber pole Synthetic
26mm Yaqi Rainbow brown synthetic
24mm Yaqi Aqua High mountain Silvertip Badger
24mm Yaqi Two band badger brush

They all look great, although I don't specifically view them as art worthy. Their performance and style for price is why I bought them and continue to use them. There certainly is a lot of brushes out there that I would consider art! This is one of my favorites. On my list to buy!

 

[sharpstar90]

I can see why you are disappointed.
I have/had all 3 of the brushes you have ordered.

I have 2 purple haze and while they are slightly different, both are gorgeous!

The moka two band has a wonderful brown swirl in the amber and actually looks like coffee in a moka pot...definitely stunning!

The moka synthetic has the least amount of swirls. More than yours but much less than the moka two band.

My suggestion is, if the purple haze and moka two band are to your expectation then you should accept the moka synthetic as is because even from my experience, it has the least swirls.

If the others also turn out without swirls then you should contact Yaqi.

On another note, I have all the Yaqi "mysterious space" variants. The handle on the silvertip 24mm fan is dull and unpolished whereas the rest are polished and give a clear cosmos look.

But I didn't bother to contact Yaqi because the brush is still really nice and the knot is killer!!

Thanks for the info. The Moka synthetic is sold out pretty much everywhere so I am going to end up keeping it. I can't replace it, even though I want to. I ended up getting the runt of their production. My guess is that WCS sent it because it was the last one they had. I noticed later that the clear shield of the package and one side of the brush looks like it was dragged across a concrete floor or scuffed with sandpaper. It'll function as a brush but it's definitely one that should have been caught by QC.

I contacted a Yaqi dealer and he thought I should send it back too. it's a crap example of what Yaqi usually.does. I'll keep it and try and appreciate it for its "subtlety".

 

[Steve_in_CT]

I think that your particular Moka handle is not up to the usual standard. I had a Moka synthetic that I sold, and I now have a Moka two band. The handles are different, but both are closer to the promo pic than to yours. Here's what my two band looks like:

One of the real selling points to me of the Yaqi Moka brushes is the handle, so I would ask for a replacement.