I just had to try one for myself...

[mayidunk]

I had been reading about how bad Weishi razors are, so I decided to try one for myself.

I bought a blister packed Weishi on Amazon.com. I looked for the cheapest one I could find. While I was there, I found 100 Shark SS blades for a good price, and so I decided to try them as well.

Both razor and blades arrived today. I had two days growth on my cheeks and neck, and so decided I would inaugurate both blade and razor. I did a quick hot water soak using a paper towel. I loaded up the Weishi with a Shark, and lathered up using VDH soap.

I immediately experienced how the razor will cut when the angle is right, and not cut, but also not irritate, if the angle is off, thus displaying how this razor promotes good technique without punishing you for poor technique, as one of the reviewers of this razor pointed out.

Long story short, I did one WTG, and one ATG pass. No discomfort, no weepers, no nicks, no irritation... nothing but a very smooth, very close shave; about a half-step away from BBS!!

Looking at the razor prior to using it, I did notice that one end of one of the silo doors was lifted up a bit when closed, perhaps by about 1/64th of an inch or so. However, looking at how the blade sat in the razor, I could not detect any affect this may have had on the blade gap. The blade sat square and even with the razor's tension bars. The rest of the fit and finish were pretty good for such a "cheap" razor. The plating seems thick and even, and the TTO mechanism works very nicely. They even capped the end of the TTO knob, to prevent "stuff" from collecting in there over time!

In the end, I cannot see anything wrong with this razor, and really cannot understand why others give it such a bad reputation, unless there are very gross differences in QC from one razor to the next. This razor seems to shave as nicely as my 40's SS, and will remain in the rotation. Not bad for a $13 razor!

In the end, I have to give the Weishi razor a very hearty !!!

Humbly submitted.

 

[Pioneer]

I don't find the Weishi *junk*, per se, but it is mild, even when you find that sweet spot, which is, as you mention, a pretty small window. Having said that, the craftsmanship on these isn't the best - although I'd say it is better than a Ming or Parker - and you can get an old Gillette that will last another 50 years and shaves better for about the same price. Also, and this is just my opinion here, I think the Weishi "teaches" new shavers to apply pressure, since it's so light, which may not be a good thing. My 2 cents.

 

[mayidunk]

I don't find the Weishi *junk*, per se, but it is mild, even when you find that sweet spot, which is, as you mention, a pretty small window. Having said that, the craftsmanship on these isn't the best - although I'd say it is better than a Ming or Parker - and you can get an old Gillette that will last another 50 years and shaves better for about the same price. Also, and this is just my opinion here, I think the Weishi "teaches" new shavers to apply pressure, since it's so light, which may not be a good thing. My 2 cents.

Good observation regarding pressure. I didn't notice if I was bearing down or not, and it seemed to be engaging the whiskers pretty easily. Next time I use it I'll do another 2-pass shave, paying closer attention to whether or not I'm bearing down on it, and will report back.

And, I agree, most will do better getting an old Gillette. However, there are some who might shy away from buying a used razor, especially if it's their first one. I just thought I would see for myself if this razor was deserving of the bad rep that others have given it.

Thanks!

 

[Dpflaum]

I think what you really gained from this is:

100 Shark blades.

Hands down my favorite DE blades no matter what razor you put them in. I have another 100 coming soon, paid all of $14.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Good for you, glad it worked out so well. Its so important to find the right gear for yourself. By all means see what others have to say about something, but in the end just because many don't like something, it doesn't mean that it'll be bad for you too.

 

[michiganlover]

Looking at the razor prior to using it, I did notice that one end of one of the silo doors was lifted up a bit when closed, perhaps by about 1/64th of an inch or so. However, looking at how the blade sat in the razor, I could not detect any affect this may have had on the blade gap.

That points to an underlying lack of quality control, and the cheapness of the construction. The Weishi I briefly had also rattled when closed, like a cheap dollar store toy.

The silo door not closing has nothing at all to do with blade gap, or uneven exposure of the blade, what it means, is that the blade will not be equally curved on both sides of the razor. When the silo doors are fully closed, the blade should be arched in the razor, with one silo door not fully closing, the blade will not be properly curved on that side.

Due to issues like this, I would not expect a Weishi to hold up well over time.

I had a Weishi briefly. I sold it after one shave, as for me, it was so mild that I found it to be 100% useless.

 

[luvmysuper]

If you buy enough of a given product, you will find some that are built well and some that are not.

The issue is that with cheap Chinese garbage, the number that are NOT are far more plentiful than those that are.

Happy you got a decent one, but it doesn't mean the next poor sap that reads your post and decides to try his luck will.

The Weishi is trash, just as the Parker is, and until there is massive leaps in their QA process I recommend people steer clear of them.

 

[mayidunk]

...The silo door not closing has nothing at all to do with blade gap, or uneven exposure of the blade, what it means, is that the blade will not be equally curved on both sides of the razor. When the silo doors are fully closed, the blade should be arched in the razor, with one silo door not fully closing, the blade will not be properly curved on that side...

I took a look, and saw that the curve on that end is slightly distorted near the apex, so it is likely that the blade's angle on that side, on that end, could be off by a bit. Also, if you think about it, the radius of the blade's curve affects the gap as well, but only very slightly. Nevertheless, that all being said, it doesn't seem to affect the shave, at least not to me anyway.

I also noticed that there was still some drops of water coming off of it a few hours after I used it. I think it may be trapping water in the handle. Oh, and it has started to squeak too!

 

[mayidunk]

If you buy enough of a given product, you will find some that are built well and some that are not.

The issue is that with cheap Chinese garbage, the number that are NOT are far more plentiful than those that are.

Happy you got a decent one, but it doesn't mean the next poor sap that reads your post and decides to try his luck will.

The Weishi is trash, just as the Parker is, and until there is massive leaps in their QA process I recommend people steer clear of them.

Yes, I allowed in my original post that spotty QC may be an issue with these razors. I may have gotten one of the few good ones. I'm actually tempted to buy another one, just to see.

I'm kind of crazy like that.

 

[OldSaw]

If you buy enough of a given product, you will find some that are built well and some that are not.

The issue is that with cheap Chinese garbage, the number that are NOT are far more plentiful than those that are.

Happy you got a decent one, but it doesn't mean the next poor sap that reads your post and decides to try his luck will.

The Weishi is trash, just as the Parker is, and until there is massive leaps in their QA process I recommend people steer clear of them.

There are two ways to improve quality of a finished product. One is to cull all the rejects and only ship the units that pass, which can be very costly if your process is off. The other way is to continuously moniter the process so only first quality parts make it to the finishing floor.

Sounds like the Chinese manufactures discovered a third method, known as the "grab bag" method, which transfers all the QC expense to the pockets of the consumer. As long as we keep taking chances on crap like this they will keep doing what they are doing.

 

[mayidunk]

There are two ways to improve quality of a finished product. One is to cull all the rejects and only ship the units that pass, which can be very costly if your process is off. The other way is to continuously moniter the process so only first quality parts make it to the finishing floor.

Sounds like the Chinese manufactures discovered a third method, known as the "grab bag" method, which transfers all the QC expense to the pockets of the consumer. As long as we keep taking chances on crap like this they will keep doing what they are doing.

I'm in IT, so I know how that goes. We have consultants who have been working for over two years to put a vendor software system system into place. It's still not ready to go, and they should've had it done in 10 months! I was involved with it earlier on, as one who was to alter an existing data mart feed to accommodate their new data feed. None of the dollar amounts in the new data feed had plus or minus signs. I asked their lead analyst about that, since dollar amounts can go below zero. The "analyst" said that using signed numbers wasn't important for those data, and that not using them would save bandwidth on the feed!!



Oh, and, my manager agreed!!!!!!



So, yes, the buyer must certainly be aware because the "experts" aren't always experts, and they may not always be on the customer's side.

In the end, I just wanted to see how bad these razors could be. Of course, as in all things, YMMV.

 

[mayidunk]

Good observation regarding pressure. I didn't notice if I was bearing down or not, and it seemed to be engaging the whiskers pretty easily. Next time I use it I'll do another 2-pass shave, paying closer attention to whether or not I'm bearing down on it, and will report back.

Okay. I'm getting ready to go out to dinner, so I shaved. Same as yesterday, same blade, same soap, two passes, WTG and ATG. And, this time, I let the weight of the razor provide the pressure.

For the most part, I found that the weight of the razor was just barely enough to keep the blade engaged. When going ATG there were a couple of times where I had to provide just a little bit of pressure in order to keep the blade from skipping over the whiskers. In the end, I still got a DFS+ in two passes, with no weepers, no nicks, and no rash.

Is there a moral to any of this? Not really, except that, as in all things, YMMV. And, of course, one should always take another person's experience with a grain of salt, knowing that they may not have the exact same experience. So, I really wouldn't be too concerned that someone may look at my "glowing recommendation" and as a result, spend a king's ransom on Weishi products.

Thus endeth the experiment.

 

[luvmysuper]

Okay. I'm getting ready to go out to dinner, so I shaved. Same as yesterday, same blade, same soap, two passes, WTG and ATG. And, this time, I let the weight of the razor provide the pressure.

For the most part, I found that the weight of the razor was just barely enough to keep the blade engaged. When going ATG there were a couple of times where I had to provide just a little bit of pressure in order to keep the blade from skipping over the whiskers. In the end, I still got a DFS+ in two passes, with no weepers, no nicks, and no rash.

Is there a moral to any of this? Not really, except that, as in all things, YMMV. And, of course, one should always take another person's experience with a grain of salt, knowing that they may not have the exact same experience. So, I really wouldn't be too concerned that someone may look at my "glowing recommendation" and as a result, spend a king's ransom on Weishi products.

Thus endeth the experiment.

Good job Bob, didn't mean to come off as condescending. If I did, apologies.

Just hate to see guys spending good hard earned money in this economy on crap that won't last them, when for just a buck or two more they could buy something that will last them 50 years.

 

[mayidunk]

Thanks, Phil.

 

[DE Shaver]

I find the Weishi a mild razor that is unexceptional. The one I have shaves well enough but it's too mild for my liking. Considering their price, however, they are not a bad deal. If you don't mind vintage razors, you may be better off buying them instead, however.

 

[taffy]

Like many above posts i also find it just too mild a shave to be of any use, also mine rattles when you hold it without it actually shaving so i would think it is not a long term product though i have no complaints about that as it was really cheap and actually did its job, but as i said earlier far too mild for me and my facial hair.