What's new

Yaqi Slant Razor

Ordered one Thursday as soon as I found it...
Still trying to get the B&B 10% applied to my order before paying, but msg their support isn't easy with a 12h TZ difference.

Just create the order, change the payment method and close without paying, Ms Chen will make the adjustments and you see it reflected under your order.

Happy shaves
 
USPS just delivered my Yaqi Mellon Ares head today. Relatively quick, considering I ordered it a little over a week ago. I have to admit that this is one of the strangest looking slant razors I have seen. It does not win any prizes for good looks and when loaded with a blade, it looks like it belongs in a horror movie.

The Ares appear to be a Yaqi Beast Hybrid (DOC top and regular base plate) that was twisted. The cap is longer than the base plate and that is because there are end flaps that fit outside of the base plate to completely cover the blade tabs. Why they just did not make a longer base plate, I don't know.

DSC02802.JPG
DSC02801.JPG


When put together with a blade loaded, it looks very odd, ill fitting, and much longer than the regular heads. For those that like the blade tabs sticking out, this is not the razor for you. While there is a definite torque, it is not an extreme one. First shave tonight, and hopefully I will live to write a report in a couple of hours.

DSC02805.JPG
DSC02804.JPG
 
It has an odd design even for a slant, like it is made on a shop by a sloppy handyman. The mentioned aggressiveness is one of the things that disencouraged me to buy it, ended buying a German 37 head for my Parker 65R handle. Bought the Mellon when it came out and it's in a drawer. Gonna pass on this one.
 
First shave done, and I managed to survive. This razor had more blade feel than most of my other razors and definitely more than my most aggressive slants. The blade sticks out far enough from the safety bar so that it shaved more like an Ikon SBS, which was not my most favorite shaver. I found myself riding the cap almost all the time and when I attempted to ride the bar, I immediately reverted back to riding the cap. The good news is that I got away with a two pass BBS plus minor touch up. I am not sure if the torquing of the blade did anything to make this razor more efficient as much as it was where the blade just jutted out too straight.

I am not sure if a better fitting head would have improved the feel of this razor, but this is not an easy razor to get adjusted to. For all others waiting for their razor heads to arrive, do not shave with this razor if you need a quick shave and need to be out the door in 10 minutes. For those testosterone laden folks that like to hear their razors working and enjoy having it take off a layer of skin, this razor might be for you. For the rest, go slow and be careful on your first shave.

I just received my Parker 55SL a couple of weeks ago and it is a much better razor to consider if you want a slant.
 
First shave done, and I managed to survive. This razor had more blade feel than most of my other razors and definitely more than my most aggressive slants. The blade sticks out far enough from the safety bar so that it shaved more like an Ikon SBS, which was not my most favorite shaver. I found myself riding the cap almost all the time and when I attempted to ride the bar, I immediately reverted back to riding the cap. The good news is that I got away with a two pass BBS plus minor touch up. I am not sure if the torquing of the blade did anything to make this razor more efficient as much as it was where the blade just jutted out too straight.

I am not sure if a better fitting head would have improved the feel of this razor, but this is not an easy razor to get adjusted to. For all others waiting for their razor heads to arrive, do not shave with this razor if you need a quick shave and need to be out the door in 10 minutes. For those testosterone laden folks that like to hear their razors working and enjoy having it take off a layer of skin, this razor might be for you. For the rest, go slow and be careful on your first shave.

I just received my Parker 55SL a couple of weeks ago and it is a much better razor to consider if you want a slant.

I too was very curious about a slant since, its a razor design I don't have.
Since, I was getting a bunch of brushes I thought why not and ordered it w a Doc too.
IMG_20190704_171845.jpg

There must have been a mix up during shipping cos I got 3 not 2 heads... Spares yeah lol.

I tend to shave steep so I too, was concerned about the slant.
Face lathered and first stroke... Hmmm not bad fairly smooth, effecient but noisy.

After the 3rd stroke without any incident I got braver. WTG, XTG and ATG I went.

Not bad at all, smooth, effecient and not like what I was expecting, I ended up with an easier shave than my workhorse the NSC.l, BBS in 2 passes, I've found my travel razor yeah!

The YS/Nacet combo is a winner! Sure it won't win any awards for looks, it isn't the most refine in fit or finish, plus it may scare housekeeping enough not to want to touch it much less steal it lol.
However, at no time did I feel it was overly aggressive or on the edge like with my GC84 sometimes.

Probably cos I am used to the aggressiveness of the GC84 I didn't find the slant aggressive at all, I'll put it at a 4 on a slim and less aggressive then a GC84 for sure.

Caution is adviced for those trying it for the first time but I'm pretty happy with it.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi
 
Last edited:
First shave this morning. Very efficient and the OC cap provided plenty of hydration through the pass as I was hoping it would. Easily the best $5 you could spend on a razor.

The razor unfortunately produces quite a bit of chatter (more than with any razor I own, including the original ATT and Rocca, neither of which I find problematic in this regard at all). I didn’t find it uncomfortable though, since the razor is both easy to use and intuitive and hits the sweet spot for me in terms of aggression. @gvw755 asked why the cap is wider than the base. My guess is that a thinner head would have made this razor unusable. As for my wishlist: a wider base plate (east to west) to match the width of the cap and a wider cap (north to south) where the teeth on the cap come closer to the edge of the razor.
 
As for my wishlist: a wider base plate (east to west) to match the width of the cap and a wider cap (north to south) where the teeth on the cap come closer to the edge of the razor.
I totally agree with your assessment. They did not need those tabs at the end of the cap, they just could have lengthened the base so that the blade tabs are not exposed, or minimally exposed. Also, the cap coming closer to the edge would help the part of having the blade jut out leaving a big space above the base guard. It is definitely an efficient shaver, but not really a well designed one. For those that like to ride the guard, this is not an easy thing with this razor. I just shaved with my Beast Hybrid a couple of nights ago and felt that it was a better shaver than this one, but slightly less efficient.
 
Also, the cap coming closer to the edge would help the part of having the blade jut out leaving a big space above the base guard.

Thanks @gvw755. My thought here is that it would add rigidity and cut back on the chatter.

I just shaved with my Beast Hybrid a couple of nights ago and felt that it was a better shaver than this one, but slightly less efficient.

This is a very efficient razor, two and a half pass BBS without much clean up necessary. It’s no Timeless by any stretch, but this head has definitely earned a place in my travel kit (a compact way to add some variety while traveling).
 
My Yaqi slant head arrived today. It has a defective tooth that puts an interesting wow in the blade:
62BF5D2C-3BFE-4BE7-9106-D35BBE9FD22F.jpeg

10072617-C5AA-4D5D-8C64-4D1FAC06F9D4.jpeg


I might post a review tomorrow - one side is as ‘normal’ as can be expected with this head design.

I immediately started prospecting for an alternate cap to franken this baseplate. The PBOCS, Wunderbar and a GBS branded RazoRocK Stealth clone all offer plausible alternatives.
 
My Yaqi slant head arrived today. It has a defective tooth that puts an interesting wow in the blade:
View attachment 997492
View attachment 997491

I might post a review tomorrow - one side is as ‘normal’ as can be expected with this head design.

I immediately started prospecting for an alternate cap to franken this baseplate. The PBOCS, Wunderbar and a GBS branded RazoRocK Stealth clone all offer plausible alternatives.

Tanuki,

It seems Yaqi has pulled this from their lists. Probably due to qc issues like what you've experienced.

Too bad cos it does work quite well.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi
 
Tanuki,

It seems Yaqi has pulled this from their lists. Probably due to qc issues like what you've experienced.

Too bad cos it does work quite well.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

Thanks! I ‘opened a dispute’ with the Yaqi store on Alibaba. They responded quickly (given the time zones!) and have offered a replacement once they see my pictures. I hope they have a replacement to send me. I’m about to test shave with the side without the defective cap tooth. With luck, a happy shave. Even if I never get a first quality cap I’ll get some fun out of trying the other slant caps with this baseplate. :001_302:
 
My Yaqi slant head arrived today. It has a defective tooth that puts an interesting wow in the blade:
View attachment 997492
View attachment 997491

I might post a review tomorrow - one side is as ‘normal’ as can be expected with this head design.

I immediately started prospecting for an alternate cap to franken this baseplate. The PBOCS, Wunderbar and a GBS branded RazoRocK Stealth clone all offer plausible alternatives.

First Yaqi open comb cap slant (YOCCS?) shave summary:
Blade exposure (cap edge to blade edge) - extreme
Blade gap (blade to baseplate, per my old spark plug wire gauge) - 1.0 mm
Shave quality on first quality side of head - efficient, plenty of audio and alum feedback
Shave quality on defective side of head (wow in blade due to bad cap tooth) - uneven, useless, but no blood, still noisy, so adding some extra blade excursion didn’t change that!

Franken 1: Stealth clone cap cut way down on blade exposure and gap; shave efficiency approaching zero

Franken 2: PBOCS Bakelite cap reduced blade exposure a bit and cut the blade gap in half. Shave was still efficient, but quieter. Alum feedback was normal for a high efficiency shave. A reasonable mod.

Overall rating of the YOCCS:
Good side offers daring and unusual slant design and shave. I will shave with this less often than my PBOCS.
Bad side - stay away

When I have time today, I will post this SOTD with too many photos on The Daily Double
 
Thanks! I ‘opened a dispute’ with the Yaqi store on Alibaba. They responded quickly (given the time zones!) and have offered a replacement once they see my pictures. I hope they have a replacement to send me. I’m about to test shave with the side without the defective cap tooth. With luck, a happy shave. Even if I never get a first quality cap I’ll get some fun out of trying the other slant caps with this baseplate. :001_302:

The Yaqi Factory Store on Alibaba is shipping a replacement slant head. Great customer service. It moved forward as fast as possible given the time zone difference.
 
Hello

Mine arrived today. I picked up a generic gunmetal razor for the handle (didn’t have any gunmetal) to match.
Must say fit and finish are better than I expected. Blade alignment lots great and no defective cap teeth that could cause blade wave.
Will take maiden voyage with a Voskhod tomorrow. Looks like it might be a tad efficient.....
Eye candy below.

Cheers
John
DC8BFBCA-37CB-4B50-A25E-E1460EAB3DE4.jpeg
F8FD43B2-089D-4C28-A43F-43760CD24582.jpeg
83343127-DD95-4677-B559-B1EDC06A746A.jpeg
760A8B7E-A22C-4646-8C1B-D5985A01F497.jpeg
F6964DAC-F0E0-48E0-8386-191B86D252C2.jpeg
 
Hello

Maiden voyage complete. Didn’t have to call 911 or break out the first aid kit. Here are the details.

The razors fit and finish under close inspection looks really good. I couldn’t find any finish flaws in plating and blade didn’t require alignment. This razor didn’t have any bent teeth like some others have exhibited.

The shave was a shower 2 pass (XTG, ATG) head, face shave with 3 days of growth. Brush was Omega boar (10098). Crime was TOBS coconut with a Voskhod blade.

The results were impressive. This is a very efficient razor with quite a bit of blade feel. I didn’t experience any blade chatter.
The first pass (XTG) was very loud, smooth and removed almost all growth. Skin was almost BBS except when going ATG.
The second pass (ATG) was much quieter and very smooth. The final result was an extremely close BBS worthy shave.

This razor should appeal to efficient razor lovers. This is probably a tie for the most efficient slant I own with the Windrose humpback. The Yaqi is a tad smoother. Maybe due to head weight.

In my opinion Yaqi keeps producing quality razors at a bargain. I would highly recommend it but it is not for the faint of heart.

Cheers
John
 
Hello

Maiden voyage complete. Didn’t have to call 911 or break out the first aid kit. Here are the details.

The razors fit and finish under close inspection looks really good. I couldn’t find any finish flaws in plating and blade didn’t require alignment. This razor didn’t have any bent teeth like some others have exhibited.

The shave was a shower 2 pass (XTG, ATG) head, face shave with 3 days of growth. Brush was Omega boar (10098). Crime was TOBS coconut with a Voskhod blade.

The results were impressive. This is a very efficient razor with quite a bit of blade feel. I didn’t experience any blade chatter.
The first pass (XTG) was very loud, smooth and removed almost all growth. Skin was almost BBS except when going ATG.
The second pass (ATG) was much quieter and very smooth. The final result was an extremely close BBS worthy shave.

This razor should appeal to efficient razor lovers. This is probably a tie for the most efficient slant I own with the Windrose humpback. The Yaqi is a tad smoother. Maybe due to head weight.

In my opinion Yaqi keeps producing quality razors at a bargain. I would highly recommend it but it is not for the faint of heart.

Cheers
John

Thanks for detailed review! I will give this razor head more attention once the replacement (with two good sides) arrives from Yaqi. As for finish, even the weird bumpy tooth on mine has a solid finish. The gunmetal finish is a very glossy look.

It will be nice if they make a few and get them posted for sale again.
 
OMG, look at the crazy blade exposure. :001_07:
Technically, you can't even see the blade exposure from that pic. "Blade exposure" refers to the amount of blade that sticks out from an imaginary line drawn between the baseplate and the top cap, not to the amount of blade that can be seen "exposed" (i.e., not covered by the top cap).
I wouldn't correct you except that the concept of blade exposure the way I defined it above is really important. Not all razors that "show" a lot of blade actually truly have a large blade exposure.
 
Technically, you can't even see the blade exposure from that pic. "Blade exposure" refers to the amount of blade that sticks out from an imaginary line drawn between the baseplate and the top cap, not to the amount of blade that can be seen "exposed" (i.e., not covered by the top cap).
I wouldn't correct you except that the concept of blade exposure the way I defined it above is really important. Not all razors that "show" a lot of blade actually truly have a large blade exposure.

@Bondage007 posted a final photo that does show substantial blade exposure. The amount of blade revealed (unsupported) from below the cap plus the exposure makes me glad that this is a torqued slant. Bondage007 reported no blade chatter. My experience was similar. I credit the twist.
 
Top Bottom