I'm new here at B&B and am having fun just reading up on available products, especially. I'm also pretty skeptical of marketing material, which includes unsolicited reviews, for the most part.
I'm getting interested in assembling a razor from the various available parts--in a way, it's like being a kid again and piecing together a car: it is likely not to be as good as a well-crafted high end complete razor, but it has that personal involvement, which is part of the fun.
I note that Yaqi has a very wide product offering, and this seems to be primarily parts--which appear magnificent in their marking photos, and for all I know, they may be. But...
I'm going to break my specific question into two main parts: quality of manufactured products; and design philosophy(s).
1. Quality
First off, it looks to me like Yaqi often offers much the same parts (and here I'll limit this to razor heads) under different model names but are made from different material. Working only from memory, it looks like they offer a dual comb head in both Zamac(n) and 316 stainless. The alignment system might differ somewhat. And the price is much higher for SS--high for a Chinese product, but moderate for the higher end labels.
It seems to me like SS and Zamac(n) have vastly different physical properties (here I'm focusing not on consumer concerns, but *manufacturing* concerns), and therefore they are made in different facilities and on different production lines. It may be that the SS production methods are very good, but the Zamac less so. Fit and finish may differ. Or vice-versa.
B&B friends and fellow-sufferers
, what are your opinions of the quality of manufacture for both the SS parts and the Zamac parts, as compared to say, Muhle or Merkur?
2. Design philosophy
My initial impression is that Yaqi has none: they are simply looking at the design of higher-end manufacturers, assessing what consumers might really find attractive, and then reverse engineering it. They appear to by trollingmany, many shiny objects for the cost-conscious western consumer to strike.
But then there's more. They have some, to my eye, unique designs (Harlequin, Mellon, Bohemia) that are hard to account for, some of them. E.g., the Harlequin looks like the common bolt-plus-two lugs alignment design, but with squared rather than circular cross-sectioned lugs. The Mellon looks intuitively like it *might* makes sense to someone, somewhere, perhaps, but I have to scratch my head when looking at the Bohemia. I cannot conceive of any advantages--except aesthetic--that the head design confers.
So in conclusion, it may look like I'm ragging on Yaqi, but in all seriousness I'm considering buying one of their dual comb heads, in either Zamac or SS, then laying ahold of some sort of fat handle. At my age I'm losing a lot of manuakl dexterity, and the Slim I just bought feels--to my spastic, insensitive fingers--like I'm playing Pickup Sticks with my daughter again.
Any observations/opinions about any aspects of Yaqi design or quality (or price) are of course much appreciated!
I'm getting interested in assembling a razor from the various available parts--in a way, it's like being a kid again and piecing together a car: it is likely not to be as good as a well-crafted high end complete razor, but it has that personal involvement, which is part of the fun.
I note that Yaqi has a very wide product offering, and this seems to be primarily parts--which appear magnificent in their marking photos, and for all I know, they may be. But...
I'm going to break my specific question into two main parts: quality of manufactured products; and design philosophy(s).
1. Quality
First off, it looks to me like Yaqi often offers much the same parts (and here I'll limit this to razor heads) under different model names but are made from different material. Working only from memory, it looks like they offer a dual comb head in both Zamac(n) and 316 stainless. The alignment system might differ somewhat. And the price is much higher for SS--high for a Chinese product, but moderate for the higher end labels.
It seems to me like SS and Zamac(n) have vastly different physical properties (here I'm focusing not on consumer concerns, but *manufacturing* concerns), and therefore they are made in different facilities and on different production lines. It may be that the SS production methods are very good, but the Zamac less so. Fit and finish may differ. Or vice-versa.
B&B friends and fellow-sufferers
, what are your opinions of the quality of manufacture for both the SS parts and the Zamac parts, as compared to say, Muhle or Merkur?2. Design philosophy
My initial impression is that Yaqi has none: they are simply looking at the design of higher-end manufacturers, assessing what consumers might really find attractive, and then reverse engineering it. They appear to by trollingmany, many shiny objects for the cost-conscious western consumer to strike.
But then there's more. They have some, to my eye, unique designs (Harlequin, Mellon, Bohemia) that are hard to account for, some of them. E.g., the Harlequin looks like the common bolt-plus-two lugs alignment design, but with squared rather than circular cross-sectioned lugs. The Mellon looks intuitively like it *might* makes sense to someone, somewhere, perhaps, but I have to scratch my head when looking at the Bohemia. I cannot conceive of any advantages--except aesthetic--that the head design confers.
So in conclusion, it may look like I'm ragging on Yaqi, but in all seriousness I'm considering buying one of their dual comb heads, in either Zamac or SS, then laying ahold of some sort of fat handle. At my age I'm losing a lot of manuakl dexterity, and the Slim I just bought feels--to my spastic, insensitive fingers--like I'm playing Pickup Sticks with my daughter again.
Any observations/opinions about any aspects of Yaqi design or quality (or price) are of course much appreciated!
