The Winner's Circle (fans of The Winning Razor)

[Kix]

Thanks for the shave report @StewB .
I need to use my Winning in the next few days. It's been quite a while since I used it. That's the problem with having too many razors!

Saturday shave

Cella Crema Da Barba (red) shave cream
Omega Boar brush 10066 (4)
WSC/Yates Winning Razor
Astra Superior Platinum (new)
Omega alum block
Thayers Witch Hazel, rose petal

This was the first shave in months using the Winning razor. It produced a wonderful shave, no weepers, nicks, cuts or irritation. I forgot how good this $43 razor performs. Amazing!

The Omega 10066 Boar brush continues to impress. I'm very grateful to B&B for coming up with things like DecemBOAR. I wouldn't have bought a boar brush if not for the DecemBOAR boar brush activity. I really like this cheap brush, it works great and I know it will be even better as it breaks in.

This was the usual three pass shave; WTG, XTG, ATG. No irritation!

10/10 and happy skin!

Enjoy your shaves!

 

[mikhou]

I just "won" a Winning Razor in a PIF. As a Henson user, I'll be intrigued to compare the two.

 

[Kix]

I just "won" a Winning Razor in a PIF. As a Henson user, I'll be intrigued to compare the two.

Please post your observations about the Winning. A comparison with the Henson should be interesting.
Today's shave with the Winning was perfect for me. BBS and no weepers, etc. or irritation. It's very different than the Henson and a terrific razor. I plan on using the Winning much more frequently in the future.

 

[Kix]

After a shave like today's, I would say that Winning is the perfect name for this razor!

Monday shave

Cella Cream Da Barba (red) shave cream
Omega 10066 Boar brush (5)
Yates/WSC Winning razor
Astra Superior Platinum (2)
Omega alum block
Thayers Witch Hazel, rose petal

This was the usual three pass shave. Some buffing was required to achieve the desired shave results.

The Winning razor produced a terrific shave... again! It's amazing how mild this razor is, but it gave a great BBS shave with NO irritation, even on the neck.

10/10 Marvelous!

Enjoy your shave and your day!

 

[StewB]

Winning Wednesday -

Razor: WSC/Yates Winning
Blade: RK Stainless (4th/final use)
Pre-shave: Razorock pre-shave gel
Cream: Palmolive (red tube)
Aftershave: Nivea Sensitive Cool

Still like the Winning. Mild yet somehow efficient. I was a little short on time this morning and I was still able to get a very high quality and irritation-free shave. The Winning is definitely my most efficient mild razor.

 

[Kix]

Thursday shave

Cella Crema Da Barba (red) shave cream
Omega Professional Boar shaving brush (new)
Yates/WSC Winning razor
Astra Superior Platinum blade (3)
Thayers Witch Hazel, rose petal

This was a three pass shave. No drama, no weepers, etc. No Irritation.
I'm really enjoying the boar brushes I've been using lately. The Omega Pro is a nice big brush, that even on the first use was terrific.
The Winning razor is aptly named. It produces a close shave even though very mild.

10/10

Enjoy your shave and your day!

 

[StewB]

Winning Wednesday!

Razor: Winning (Wet Shaving Club/Yates)
Blade: RK Stainless
Pre-shave: Proraso white (for neck)
Soap: Stirling Spice

I recently got a Blackbird (stainless steel, machined finish). The Winning, to me, is very close to the Blackbird in terms of performance. For my face, for some reason, the Winning is really a freakishly good razor!

 

[StewB]

It's Winning Wednesday again -

Razor: Winning (Yates/Wet Shaving Club)
Blade: RK Stainless (3rd use)
Lather: Head Slick
Aftershave: Nivea sensitive cool (w/added menthol powder)

Went brushless again today and shaved with hand application of the Head Slick shave cream. Good quality shave today; no complaints. The head geometry of the somehow Winning works well for me - despite minimal blade gap and exposure, the razor is quite efficient. Being short on time I used only 2.5 passes, but the result was a very high quality and irritation-free shave.

 

[Kix]

Sunday shave

Tabac Original
Omega 10049 Boar brush
Winning razor
Tatra Platinum razor blade (new)
Omega alum block
Thayers Witch Hazel

This was the usual three pass shave. From the first strokes I knew something wasn't right. The razor resisted motion like a tree stump.
As the shave progressed, slowly, with more effort than I recall with any other shave, it became obvious that the Tatra razor blades provided with the razor were not fit for use. Dull would be an understatement. I'm so glad I only got one free tuck and resisted the urge to buy 100 Tatra blades with the razor!!

The Winning razor has provided many excellent shaves for me, but even the Winning can't overcome mediocre razor blades.

No weepers, nicks, etc. Not a very close shave, but a good lesson (about Tatra blades) was learned that won't need to be repeated, so that's GOOD!

Usually I would be very unhappy with a shave like this, but it turned out OK, because now I've answered the lingering question about Tatra razor blades. Now I can get back to known good razor blades and have terrific shaves!

7.5/10

Enjoy your shaves (even the less than great ones) and have an awesome day!!

 

[spacemonkey42]

Didn't folks say they were made in an old Astra plant and compare them to the Astra SP? The SPs are not sharp enough for me, I wish they were, lots of folks love them.

 

[Kix]

I recently got a Blackbird (stainless steel, machined finish). The Winning, to me, is very close to the Blackbird in terms of performance. For my face, for some reason, the Winning is really a freakishly good razor!

So true, StewB! The Winning is unique among the razors I own. It gives very close shaves with zero irritation. It's very easy on the skin.
I would like to see the weight of the Winning reduced by about a third or offered in a lighter material. But even in its current form, it's a wonderful razor!

 

[Kix]

Didn't folks say they were made in an old Astra plant and compare them to the Astra SP? The SPs are not sharp enough for me, I wish they were, lots of folks love them.

I have used quite a few Astra Superior Platinums, and they are vastly better than the Tatra blades (made in The Czech Republic). If I'm not mistaken, Astras are made in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Not even remotely similar, IMO.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I would like to see the weight of the Winning reduced by about a third or offered in a lighter material. But even in its current form, it's a wonderful razor!

It is a chunky one, isn't it? I haven't gotten one, but I imagine that the Karve Overlander is rather Winning-like. And they offer it in aluminum. That has been tempting me.

 

[StewB]

This morning I used the Winning razor. My rotation for the last few weeks has been: Blackbird, Winning, and R41. For me the Winning somehow holds its own in terms of performance. This is just a surprisingly good razor. I think it's because the shave angle is very intuitive: To me the Winning is kind of like a steeper angle version of the Blackbird that has less blade feel but is still somehow very efficient.

Razor: Winning
Blade: RK Stainless (3rd use)
Pre-shave: Dab of TRESemmé hair conditioner (on neck)
Lather: Proraso green
Aftershave: Nivea Sensitive Cool (with some added menthol powder)

Today's shave was outstanding! Very close, smooth, and irritation-free.

(Previous comments have noted that the Winning is heavy: Yes, it's on the heavy side. I like the weight because it feels substantial in the hand. Great razor for my face and technique!)

 

[Kix]

Sunday shave

Tabac Original
Omega 10049 Boar brush
Winning razor
Tatra Platinum razor blade (new)
Omega alum block
Thayers Witch Hazel

This was the usual three pass shave. From the first strokes I knew something wasn't right. The razor resisted motion like a tree stump.
As the shave progressed, slowly, with more effort than I recall with any other shave, it became obvious that the Tatra razor blades provided with the razor were not fit for use. Dull would be an understatement. I'm so glad I only got one free tuck and resisted the urge to buy 100 Tatra blades with the razor!!

The Winning razor has provided many excellent shaves for me, but even the Winning can't overcome mediocre razor blades.

No weepers, nicks, etc. Not a very close shave, but a good lesson (about Tatra blades) was learned that won't need to be repeated, so that's GOOD!

Usually I would be very unhappy with a shave like this, but it turned out OK, because now I've answered the lingering question about Tatra razor blades. Now I can get back to known good razor blades and have terrific shaves!

7.5/10

Enjoy your shaves (even the less than great ones) and have an awesome day!!

Hey Friends! It's time for a re-do of the quoted shave and it's time for me to eat crow and humble pie!

After postting the shave from yesterday, I was puzzled about the resistance of the razor to move across my face. After much thought, I wondered if the phenomenon I experienced was a friction issue with the razor. Could it be the dreaded "suction" some have reported? I decided to get a definitive answer.

As you can read from the previous shave, it didn't go as well as anticipated. So today, I popped a new Tatra blade into the Winning razor and tried again, with different results.

So, the re-do consisted of this:

Cella Crema Da Barba (red) shave cream
Omega 10066 Boar brush (love it!)
Winning razor by Yates
Tatra Platinum razor blade (new)
Omega alum block
Aqua Velva Ice Blue aftershave

This shave went a lot better than yesterday. The only difference was the shave soap and the amount used. I used a lot more soap in the lather bowl this morning, unlike yesterday when I was too stingy with the shave soap. The difference was night and day. The Winning razor moved easily across my face, the Tatra blade did a pretty good job of slicing off the whiskers. It was wimpy lather that caused yesterday's issues, and I wonder if the widely reported "suction" or drag might be caused by the same issue?? I've never experienced Winning razor drag before yesterday.

TL/DR: I attributed yesterday's bad shave to the Tatra razor blade. That was incorrect. Although the Tatra blade isn't what I consider to be a top tier blade, it wasn't the issue, my lackluster lather was.

9.7/10. Much better!

Enjoy your shaves and have a wonderful day!

 

[StewB]

I have also heard of this "suction" complaint (for some, it seems to be a complaint) in regards to the Winning. I think this is because the flat part of the side of the razor's head that provides the shave angle causes more or less continuous skin contact as you glide the razor along the skin's surface. It's a slightly different face feel than many other DE razors, but this is by design (and FWIW doesn't feel like "suction" to me).

Maybe this complaint is caused, as you say, by insufficiently slick lather. In that case the head is trying to glide along skin that's too dry, causing a "dragging" sensation.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Let's get our facts straight... It can not be "suction." There is no suction force. It is drag.

I've felt this drag a few times, but not often. It is due to a combination of factors, mainly insufficiently slick lather and the large contact surface are a of the Winning. The solid safety bar adds to that, sweeping away most of the later. The smoothest shaves I've had so far with it were with a thin, very slick Col Conk glycerine soap.

On the good side, even when I did feel that drag, I didn't worry at all about irritation. Given the neutral blade exposure, in some ways it was just lining up the skin to get a clean pass.

 

[Kix]

I have also heard of this "suction" complaint (for some, it seems to be a complaint) in regards to the Winning. I think this is because the flat part of the side of the razor's head that provides the shave angle causes more or less continuous skin contact as you glide the razor along the skin's surface. It's a slightly different face feel than many other DE razors, but this is by design (and FWIW doesn't feel like "suction" to me).

Maybe this complaint is caused, as you say, by insufficiently slick lather. In that case the head is trying to glide along skin that's too dry, causing a "dragging" sensation.

Agree, it's a lather issue, but I haven't encountered this phenomenon with any other razor. So, IMO, the razor design is partially to blame. Maybe Yates will address this in the updated version of the Winning. I think a taper of the lower edge of the base plate and a taper of the cap on the top edge would go a long way to eliminate the amount of friction the razor produces.

Let's get our facts straight... It can not be "suction." There is no suction force. It is drag.

I've felt this drag a few times, but not often. It is due to a combination of factors, mainly insufficiently slick lather and the large contact surface are a of the Winning. The solid safety bar adds to that, sweeping away most of the later. The smoothest shaves I've had so far with it were with a thin, very slick Col Conk glycerine soap.

On the good side, even when I did feel that drag, I didn't worry at all about irritation. Given the neutral blade exposure, in some ways it was just lining up the skin to get a clean pass.

Agree, it's NOT suction. It's friction, pure and simple.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I think a scallop on the safety bar would help a bit, plus it would allow more lather through.

Didn't Jake Yates say he was making a new razor since the Winning was discontinued? Was there any hint of a timeline to that?

 

[Kix]

I think a scallop on the safety bar would help a bit, plus it would allow more lather through.

Didn't Jake Yates say he was making a new razor since the Winning was discontinued? Was there any hint of a timeline to that?

Wet Shaving Club discontinued the Winning, Yates wasn't too pleased with the decision, IIRC.
Yates plans to update the Winning. How, I'm not sure. No time line that I know of.