Ti Winning v2 Razor

[spacemonkey42]

I got my Yates titanium Winning razor, version 2, and have had two shaves with it. Anyone else given it a try? So far, so good for me. I'm holding judgement initially as I learn the tool and tune it in. But it has great potential.

One very unique thing. It has a very high pitched sound when shaving. It surprised me with the first stroke. I took the razor apart, thinking I didn't screw it tight enough or something. Then tonight I noticed that the safety bar rings like a chime if you flick it. So that is the source of the sound. Does the stainless v2 Winning exhibit the same? The original Wet Shaving Club Winning did not, but it has drilled holes and not a wide lather channel.

I'm excited to hear from others who are using this razor. Please share your experiences.

 

[craigq]

Received mine earlier, but I have not used it yet. I'll post up when I do

 

[tm3]

I am pleased with my Henson AL13+ and have always wanted a Ti razor so when this one came out I jumped on it.

It's a good looking razor with nice size and balance.

The shave experience, for me, is not so good. No matter what blade I use, there is a very harsh feel to each stroke. I thought well, maybe this means it is more "efficient" but the final results are no better than what I get with the Henson, ASD2, Merkur 34HD, or Progress. I've tried to convince myself that it is operator error (usually the answer to shaving issues), but since the head design creates the "autopilot angle" I don't see what I could do differently, other than try different blades. I'm definitely open to suggestions as I would like to love this razor (but not enough to say that The Emperor's clothes sure look swell).

I'm glad that there is a 60 day return window.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I am pleased with my Henson AL13+ and have always wanted a Ti razor so when this one came out I jumped on it.

It's a good looking razor with nice size and balance.

The shave experience, for me, is not so good. No matter what blade I use, there is a very harsh feel to each stroke. I thought well, maybe this means it is more "efficient" but the final results are no better than what I get with the Henson, ASD2, Merkur 34HD, or Progress. I've tried to convince myself that it is operator error (usually the answer to shaving issues), but since the head design creates the "autopilot angle" I don't see what I could do differently, other than try different blades. I'm definitely open to suggestions as I would like to love this razor (but not enough to say that The Emperor's clothes sure look swell).

I'm glad that there is a 60 day return window.

Very interesting, thank you for sharing. Can you share more about the harsh feel? How much of that could be sound? Do you get any post-shave feedback or irritation? I was actually shocked by the first stroke, the sound was so different. Like I said, I thought I hadn't screwed the cap tight enough. It sounded rough. But the shave wasn't rough and there was no post-shave feedback, even from alcohol.

I'm not sure if I can help, but I sure want to try! Hmmmm... My first suggestions would be two things - a sharper blade and a lighter touch. I find the Winnings and the Hensons work best with very sharp blades. It is also way too easy to add too much pressure, given the light weight and relatively mild feel. I learned from the Henson that the lighter I went, counterintuitively the better the shave result. Maybe you found the same.

 

[tm3]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing. Can you share more about the harsh feel? How much of that could be sound? Do you get any post-shave feedback or irritation? I was actually shocked by the first stroke, the sound was so different. Like I said, I thought I hadn't screwed the cap tight enough. It sounded rough. But the shave wasn't rough and there was no post-shave feedback, even from alcohol.

I'm not sure if I can help, but I sure want to try! Hmmmm... My first suggestions would be two things - a sharper blade and a lighter touch. I find the Winnings and the Hensons work best with very sharp blades. It is also way too easy to add too much pressure, given the light weight and relatively mild feel. I learned from the Henson that the lighter I went, counterintuitively the better the shave result. Maybe you found the same.

I have trouble with descriptors as I'm not sure that they mean the same for everyone (smooth, efficient, etc.). When I say "harsh" the best analogy I can think of is the feeling a blade has when it is past its useful life. I usually get around 10 shaves from a DE blade and once they start feeling "harsh" or "not smooth" to me I toss them. Another analogy I can think of is I bought a Fatip razor once and IIRC it had the same, to me, harsh feel. The feel I'm describing with the Winning Ti razor is accompanied by a fair amount of alum tingle post shave.

Too much pressure was my first thought, although I'm pretty attuned to that. Blade choice was the other, but I've had similar results with Astra (Yates' recommended blade with this razor), Red Personna, and Kai.

Paradoxically, I've heard other Henson users say that the Henson "needs" more pressure to work correctly, not less. My experience is that the AL13+ can take a wider range of pressure than, say, an ASD2 and still give a good result. I think that I use more pressure with the Henson subconsciously because I have to be more careful with the ASD2 after several Henson shaves. I've been pretty careful with the Winning Ti and pressure does not seem to be the issue.

It's a mystery to me because when I look at the Henson and Winning in profile the heads and angles look the same and I would think they would shave the same. I guess it's the old YMMV thing.

 

[spacemonkey42]

I have trouble with descriptors as I'm not sure that they mean the same for everyone (smooth, efficient, etc.). When I say "harsh" the best analogy I can think of is the feeling a blade has when it is past its useful life. I usually get around 10 shaves from a DE blade and once they start feeling "harsh" or "not smooth" to me I toss them. Another analogy I can think of is I bought a Fatip razor once and IIRC it had the same, to me, harsh feel. The feel I'm describing with the Winning Ti razor is accompanied by a fair amount of alum tingle post shave.

Thank you for expanding on your experience. That helps me understand better. Of course I don't know, but my suspicion would still be pressure. The Winning controls for angle and because it is ~neutral, the angle is narrow. I'd add to that the odd sound. As I said, the sound was different and rough, so much so that I thought the shave was rough. That sound was playing tricks on my mind. I need to get more shaves in with it.

Paradoxically, I've heard other Henson users say that the Henson "needs" more pressure to work correctly, not less. My experience is that the AL13+ can take a wider range of pressure than, say, an ASD2 and still give a good result. I think that I use more pressure with the Henson subconsciously because I have to be more careful with the ASD2 after several Henson shaves. I've been pretty careful with the Winning Ti and pressure does not seem to be the issue.

You're right here too, descriptors are confusing. More/less doesn't explain it. Razors need the right amount of pressure for that razor. It just happens that with light razors like the Henson, more often people add too much. But some don't add enough and they get a skipping effect. Initially I happened to be using too much pressure with my Henson mild. The mild didn't penalize me, but when I went to the medium and then the aggressive they did and I had to lighten up.

It's a mystery to me because when I look at the Henson and Winning in profile the heads and angles look the same and I would think they would shave the same. I guess it's the old YMMV thing.

They are very different razors that share some similarities, as you're experiencing. One interesting thing, Yates says the Winning v2 is neutral. I did a cardstock test with a Perma-Sharp blade and the blade didn't bite, but it roughed up the edge. So that means that with a Perma-Sharp it is the tiniest bit positive.

 

[BigJ]

Congratulations!! Looks like you won the lottery!!

 

[Largefarva]

I am pleased with my Henson AL13+ and have always wanted a Ti razor so when this one came out I jumped on it.

It's a good looking razor with nice size and balance.

The shave experience, for me, is not so good. No matter what blade I use, there is a very harsh feel to each stroke. I thought well, maybe this means it is more "efficient" but the final results are no better than what I get with the Henson, ASD2, Merkur 34HD, or Progress. I've tried to convince myself that it is operator error (usually the answer to shaving issues), but since the head design creates the "autopilot angle" I don't see what I could do differently, other than try different blades. I'm definitely open to suggestions as I would like to love this razor (but not enough to say that The Emperor's clothes sure look swell).

I'm glad that there is a 60 day return window.

I’m not surprised that you didn’t like the shave with the Winning v2. Same exact experience for me with it (although mine is the SS version).

The reason I think it’s a bit harsh especially when compared to the Henson is that the actual blade angle in the head is steeper than the Henson. The Henson blade angle has it positioned so it can slice through the hair whereas the Winning razor with its steeper angle more or less scrapes across your skin and cuts the hair.

I only had two head shaves with my Winning v2 razor before deciding to give it away. In fact I’ll be mailing it off this afternoon.

 

[tm3]

Thank you for expanding on your experience. That helps me understand better. Of course I don't know, but my suspicion would still be pressure. The Winning controls for angle and because it is ~neutral, the angle is narrow. I'd add to that the odd sound. As I said, the sound was different and rough, so much so that I thought the shave was rough. That sound was playing tricks on my mind. I need to get more shaves in with it.

I appreciate your insights. As I said, I would love to love this razor as the bling factor of the Ti beats my others. But, I don't love the bling enough to keep it as just an ornament, not a workhorse.

 

[madmax45]

I also got my Winning v2 Ti from YPM. I'm a french guy, my daughter went back with it from USA in bags last month. After few shaving, I would say it's a surprising razor. It's efficient (more efficient than my Henson AL13+ & my Karve Bison), smooth, but surprising due to "his sound" during shaving which can be a little bit scary, and yes, I agree with some of you, a little bit "harsh". This razor needs to be associated with specific blades, my feeling, after my trials, is that it needs some very efficient (agressive ?) blades. I have tried a shaving with a Shark SS blade, i have stopped after few seconds, horrible "harsh" feeling. But with a Nacet or Gillette 7 Oclock black SP, it's very nice shaving, at least for my face.
Question for other users : do you have also this strange feeling when you block the blade between baseplate & topcap ? I feel to force the blade when I screw to block it, with a strange sound as I twist the blade inside....

 

[tm3]

Question for other users : do you have also this strange feeling when you block the blade between baseplate & topcap ? I feel to force the blade when I screw to block it, with a strange sound as I twist the blade inside....

I remember mine having kind of a "pop" feeling as the handle reached its maximum tightness. It seemed to be really torquing down the blade and I remember wondering if the blade was going to come out bent the first time I heard it (it didn't).

 

[spacemonkey42]

The sound is very unique and surprising in how loud and high pitched it is. The sound is harsh, but I didn't feel like the shave was very harsh.

 

[madmax45]

I remember mine having kind of a "pop" feeling as the handle reached its maximum tightness. It seemed to be really torquing down the blade and I remember wondering if the blade was going to come out bent the first time I heard it (it didn't).

yes, exactly the same feeling ! so it's probably ok/usual with this razor. Thanks

 

[madmax45]

The sound is very unique and surprising in how loud and high pitched it is. The sound is harsh, but I didn't feel like the shave was very harsh.

yes, i agree, but it depends the blade we use. Blade makes a big difference for this razor. But more I use it more I like it.

 

[StewB]

I have the original Wet Shaving Club Winning v1 "unobtainium" razor (mfg. by Yates). Somehow it manges to be efficient for me despite being quite mild. I still like it and have it in my rotation.

 

[craigq]

Five shaves with it this week. I like it, nice and mild. No fear of slicing and dicing for the early morning pre-work shave. Posted a photo in the AYO thread.