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Help me decide which Yaqi DE head to buy.

Which Yaqi DE razor heads should i get?

  • Total voters
    20
cjmalagon

cjmalagon

tldr: I have a request for Yaqi razor head owners. Looking for your opinions between the Melon (Alloy) Telstar (alloy) , Mercury (alloy) and Tile (ss316) SLOP (ss316) heads. If you where to buy 2 DE heads, the Tile being one of those, which one you would get?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hello y'all , long time no posting, almost 3 years he he, almost the same time that i stopped shaving and got a wahl machine to trim my beard but time has changed and i want to come back to the soapy days of shaving with a DE. Since i stopped shaving i gave away most of my stuff to friends and my DE razors to my brother as a gift. Now that i want to come back and with already some experience/ knowledge in this hobby i want to "build" my own, already put my eyes in a brass handle from yaqi that looks perfect to me and weight wise it's what i want, a heavy handle, but as far as the razor head goes i want to get the Tile (SS316) and another one, preferible one of the cheap one made of Alloys. The ones that got my attention are:

Telstar
Mercury
Melon
SLOP (not really, maybe)

Key preferences : low head profile and more steep angle of attack. Don't mind weight. Maybe the one that offers a slightly different style of shave than the Tile (?).

Prev owned razors:

Fatip Lo Storto Originale Gold (OC) - Love at first sight and use. Took me about 2 shaves to get a bbs. For my type of beard (curly/coarse) and skin (a bit on the sensitive side) had the perfect aggression and efficiency, but still got me thinking if i could handle something more efficient.

Gillette Heritage - My daily and my first DE razor, efficient enough and very easy to use but as time passed i wanted something more efficient and aggressive. Love the weight but the knurl on the handle was very slippery for my fingers and it was a bit short for my hands.

Gillette Aristocrat TTO 1946/1947 - Gorgeous but didn't really like it, head to bulky, hard to go under my nose and not efficient or aggressive as i would like. Very light and the handle was thin and slippery.

------------

Also please don't hesitate on recommend another head from another brand, would like to read your suggestions.

Gracias & happy shavings.
 
Halfbeard

Halfbeard

From the cheap ones I'd recommend:
1.DS cosmetics zamack AX-SE trio for 23€
2. Yaqi OC
3. Yaqi Mellon
4. Yintal Bronze

AX-SE is Wolfman clone with three plates. From three pates you'll find yours.
YOC one of the best. Mild but efficent with very thin head. Mellon is mild but efficent. Yintal has more aggression.
 
Last edited:
cjmalagon

cjmalagon

Halfbeard said:
From the cheap ones I'd recommend:
1.DS cosmetics zamack AX-SE trio for 23€
2. Yaqi OC
3. Yaqi Mellon
4. Yintal Bronze

AX-SE is Wolfman clone with three plates. From three pates you'll find yours.
YOC one of the best. Mild but efficent with very thin head. Mellon is mild but efficent. Yintal has more aggression.
Click to expand...
Is this the Yaqi OC you mention? Yaqi OC
 
ButterfaceX

ButterfaceX

They are pretty cheap to buy..
..so all ...then find out which one works best for you..
BFX

A teacher is never a giver of truth - he is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst.
Bruce Lee
 
Balthier

Balthier

Well, for the level of aggression your looking for I'm not sure you would be satisfied with the melon it's very safe and mild. It's not even close to efficiency of lo storto. The melon with the cobb plate might possibly be more to your liking, but still not close to lo storto.

Mercury has very low blade exposure, but a huge gap(I thought was slightly aggressive) so maybe could be ok if you don't mind low blade feel.

Telestar which I haven't tried would have more blade feel and a good gap. I don't think the tile compares to the lo storto it's less aggressive, medium aggression, but efficient. Like already mentioned I think the ds cosmetic axe se(alloy) would be a good fit having 3 plates and it's fairly cheap.
 
Iridian

Iridian

Cool and slimy
I cast a vote for the Mellon, BUT my bad, this was a mistake. You said "alloy".

Well, my vote was intended for the somewhat more aggressive and efficient SS version of the Mellon.

Apologies again. But let me say it again, I really like the Mellon SS a lot. Costs about as much as their other polished SS heads and is quite a looker, too.

If you like it aggressive, the Gillette Goodwill inspired "Harlequin" is also extremely good.
 
megamac

megamac

cjmalagon said:
tldr: I have a request for Yaqi razor head owners. Looking for your opinions between the Melon (Alloy) Telstar (alloy) , Mercury (alloy) and Tile (ss316) SLOP (ss316) heads. If you where to buy 2 DE heads, the Tile being one of those, which one you would get?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hello y'all , long time no posting, almost 3 years he he, almost the same time that i stopped shaving and got a wahl machine to trim my beard but time has changed and i want to come back to the soapy days of shaving with a DE. Since i stopped shaving i gave away most of my stuff to friends and my DE razors to my brother as a gift. Now that i want to come back and with already some experience/ knowledge in this hobby i want to "build" my own, already put my eyes in a brass handle from yaqi that looks perfect to me and weight wise it's what i want, a heavy handle, but as far as the razor head goes i want to get the Tile (SS316) and another one, preferible one of the cheap one made of Alloys. The ones that got my attention are:

Telstar
Mercury
Melon
SLOP (not really, maybe)

Key preferences : low head profile and more steep angle of attack. Don't mind weight. Maybe the one that offers a slightly different style of shave than the Tile (?).

Prev owned razors:

Fatip Lo Storto Originale Gold (OC) - Love at first sight and use. Took me about 2 shaves to get a bbs. For my type of beard (curly/coarse) and skin (a bit on the sensitive side) had the perfect aggression and efficiency, but still got me thinking if i could handle something more efficient.

Gillette Heritage - My daily and my first DE razor, efficient enough and very easy to use but as time passed i wanted something more efficient and aggressive. Love the weight but the knurl on the handle was very slippery for my fingers and it was a bit short for my hands.

Gillette Aristocrat TTO 1946/1947 - Gorgeous but didn't really like it, head to bulky, hard to go under my nose and not efficient or aggressive as i would like. Very light and the handle was thin and slippery.

------------

Also please don't hesitate on recommend another head from another brand, would like to read your suggestions.

Gracias & happy shavings.
Click to expand...
Hey Mate,
I second Halfbeard and Iridian on the choices. Here's my humble suggestions.

1. Yaqi Mellon, Ditch the Zamak and get the SS, I've got it and love it. Once you're hooked, this one is a keeper.

2. Get the DS S9, I have the GC .84 but love the DS better for the scalloped head and the smoothness. Get it with the SS handle and it will work out much cheaper together. I chose the DS KVT handle in Stainless Steel.

3. Get the DS AX-SE. Three plates in Zinc Alloy and I had two of the best shaves of my life with plate 2 and 3. Was so good that I ordered the Yaqi Sentinel 1.5 OC (thanks to Iridian) and I'm definitely getting a DS AX in 1.55 when the new Stainless Steel version is out. The DS AX Zamak version is probably the best bang for your buck. It is so good that I'm neither trading it or giving it away.

4. Once you've tried the DS AX-SE, I'd suggest you get a Yaqi Sentinel in 1.5 OC or 1.5 SB or 1.35 depending on what blade gap would be more comfy for you. Better still, wait for the new SS version of the AX which will be available again in the near future. Got that confirmation from the DScosmetic manager.

The SS versions are cheaper than a lot of the Razors or Razor heads from other brands but they are top notch quality.

If you choose to go with Zinc Alloy in Yaqi, I'd say get a few of them and give them a run. The options would be The Mellon, The Slant Top Aggressive, The Knight Helmet, Telstar and probably the Beast. Keep in mind that the Top Aggressive, The Beast and The Knight Helmet are an aggressive trio. Oh yeah, you could also try out the Zinc Alloy SE head, its actually pretty cool.

I Had the SS version of the Tile awhile back and outgrew it in two shaves. The Tile was super smooth and mild but not efficient enough for me. Thanks to B&B and all our buddies here, I discovered that I actually love blade feel and medium to high aggression Razors. If you're getting it in Zinc Alloy then go ahead, it won't hurt and for me every new Razor or head is an experience to savor whether its good or bad.
 
Last edited:
cjmalagon

cjmalagon

With a few minutes still on the clock for the Alliexpress anniversary sell, i got the Tile SS, Mellon head (gold plated) a new Yaqi 22mm brush , Yaqi brass handle and a sample/tester of Yaqi The Green. I bough the brass handle a few days ago because i was afraid it sold out before i could put my order, still was able to get the welcome deal + Yaqi lowered the price a bit more, i was able to get the soap and brush under my budget.

I want to thank you all for the suggestions and recommendations, much appreciated. Sadly i'm not in an very good economical situation and recent health problems have diminished a bit my budget but I will have the DS9 and the DS AX-SE on my whishlist for the next time, also they had one made of copper that got my attention.

Now...the painful waiting time
:closedeye
 
cjmalagon

cjmalagon

Balthier said:
Well, for the level of aggression your looking for I'm not sure you would be satisfied with the melon it's very safe and mild. It's not even close to efficiency of lo storto. The melon with the cobb plate might possibly be more to your liking, but still not close to lo storto.
Click to expand...
I got the Mellon with your comments on mind regarding the head. If i find it too mild probably i will use it to shave my armpits, maybe a bit weird for some people but i'm a bit sensitive there and the typical cartridge razor never worked for me, if i remember correctly the Lo Storto was a bit "scary" and too aggressive for me for shaving my armpits and ended using the Heritage a lot more for that task
Iridian said:
I cast a vote for the Mellon, BUT my bad, this was a mistake. You said "alloy".

Well, my vote was intended for the somewhat more aggressive and efficient SS version of the Mellon.

Apologies again. But let me say it again, I really like the Mellon SS a lot. Costs about as much as their other polished SS heads and is quite a looker, too.

If you like it aggressive, the Gillette Goodwill inspired "Harlequin" is also extremely good.
Click to expand...
np, glad to hear the SS variants are good, I hope better times come (financially speaking) and if I like the Mellon probably I get one in SS.

Tried to contact my friends that have my "old" stuff but sadly only one of them still use the stuff I gave him, the other one can't even find the razor's and brush I gave him, It seems that his wife liked my soaps (at least she appreciated the soaps) and told me he returned to cartridge razors, seems it was too much of a hazle for him :sob:
 
Chelko

Chelko

cjmalagon said:
I got the Mellon with your comments on mind regarding the head. If i find it too mild probably i will use it to shave my armpits

np, glad to hear the SS variants are good, I hope better times come (financially speaking) and if I like the Mellon probably I get one in SS.
Click to expand...
I don't know about the plated Mellon, but I can tell you the SS version is not mild for me. It has blade feel and it is an efficient razor! Yesterday I did a side-by-side comparison with a Blackbird SS and I had the exact same results (Blackbird 2 passes - Mellon 2 passes+touch ups) with a smoother shave from the Mellon. It was the final straw for me to sell the Bird. I hope the plated Mellon shaves similar enough to the SS, because it is a winner in my books.
 
Iridian

Iridian

Cool and slimy
Chelko said:
I don't know about the plated Mellon, but I can tell you the SS version is not mild for me. It has blade feel and it is an efficient razor! Yesterday I did a side-by-side comparison with a Blackbird SS and I had the exact same results (Blackbird 2 passes - Mellon 2 passes+touch ups) with a smoother shave from the Mellon. It was the final straw for me to sell the Bird. I hope the plated Mellon shaves similar enough to the SS, because it is a winner in my books.
Click to expand...
Hey Chelko, how is the Sentinel 1.5 OC? If the Mellon is already enough, did the 1.5 OC literally bleed you out and kill you, or do you get along with it? Just curious!

My Bohemia is arriving today in a few hours, let's see how this will turn out. :)
 
megamac

megamac

So I took the Yaqi Sentinel 1.5 OC for a spin a few days back and like Iridian mentioned, it was a fabulous shave. I'm not the biggest fan of Open Combs cause they tend to irritate my skin but the Mellon was cool and I found the Sentinel OC even superior. I used a Wizamet Super Iridium and had a BBS in two passes, no touch ups at all. For the Handle, i mounted the head on a WCS 79 S which is more like a Baton but I love the feel of it.

I did go easy with the shave and kept a light touch but loved the result, this is a terrific design directed towards nothing but being smooth and highly efficient.

Chelko, you will love this too. Top notch stuff from Yaqi.
 
megamac

megamac

Lads, just before the whole Yaqi heads discussion falls asleep, I have a question. I've often come across two models of Yaqi that I can't seem to find, would love to know if these are existent or renamed. The Yaqi Silverfox and the Yaqi Thunderbird, does anyone have any information on these two?
 
Chelko

Chelko

megamac said:
So I took the Yaqi Sentinel 1.5 OC for a spin a few days back and like Iridian mentioned, it was a fabulous shave. I'm not the biggest fan of Open Combs cause they tend to irritate my skin but the Mellon was cool and I found the Sentinel OC even superior. I used a Wizamet Super Iridium and had a BBS in two passes, no touch ups at all. For the Handle, i mounted the head on a WCS 79 S which is more like a Baton but I love the feel of it.

I did go easy with the shave and kept a light touch but loved the result, this is a terrific design directed towards nothing but being smooth and highly efficient.

Chelko, you will love this too. Top notch stuff from Yaqi.
Click to expand...
I received a sizeable package from Yaqi yesterday. I need to grow some beard to start testing everything! I can report back here once I start side-by-side shaving comparisons
 
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