Yaqi stainless steel Mellon razor head.

[Ron R]

Well looks like Yaqi wants to offer the melon head in stainless steel, looks nice IMO.
I do not know if the blade tabs are enclosed? If it is anywhere close to the Zamak Melon head that lots of folks enjoy like myself it should do all right I'm thinking.

Have some great shaves.

 

[PLANofMAN]

Yaqi's been killing it lately. They also have a Bohin replica (the Bohemian) in stainless too.

 

[kaufdrop27]

Ordered. Funny, I asked Italian Barber to consider making the Sloc in stainless and it looks like Yaqi beat them to the punch.

 

[geneaut]

Ordered. Funny, I asked Italian Barber to consider making the Sloc in stainless and it looks like Yaqi beat them to the punch.

Didn't they have a stainless SLOC2 a while back?

 

[kaufdrop27]

Didn't they have a stainless SLOC2 a while back?

It was aluminum

 

[Ron R]

Ordered. Funny, I asked Italian Barber to consider making the Sloc in stainless and it looks like Yaqi beat them to the punch.

Razorock had a Version 2 SLOC for a little while but they stopped manufacturing SLOC V2, reason not sure but maybe not a hot seller. I have the RR V1 Zamak SLOC and it comes with a stainless steel handle for a decent price making it affordable. It does have blade tab overhang.
The RR SLOC V1 that is stocked now is a mild to tame mid range, it is a great shaving razor and very enjoyable and I recommend it for a newbie or seasoned shaver who enjoy a nice mild shaving razor.
The Yaqi stainless steel melon V2 might be indicating a ever so slight increase in aggression by studying the front edge of top cap seems slightly thinner than V1 top cap giving a slight more blade feel possibly! Some fellows might like that?
Razorock SLOC V1 below picture.

Have some great shaves!

 

[lasta]

Ordered. Funny, I asked Italian Barber to consider making the Sloc in stainless and it looks like Yaqi beat them to the punch.

Hi Kaufdrop,

Have you received it?

I have one in the cart awaiting payment, but haven't clicked yet haha.

It does seem to have a slimmer top cap and bigger gap (0.4mm vs 0.25mm for the matte gold version).

Which one shaves more like a Tech?

 

[kaufdrop27]

Hi Kaufdrop,

Have you received it?

I have one in the cart awaiting payment, but haven't clicked yet haha.

It does seem to have a slimmer top cap and bigger gap (0.4mm vs 0.25mm for the matte gold version).

Which one shaves more like a Tech?

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View attachment 1607454

Haven’t received it yet. Tracking has stalled.

 

[Ron R]

Hi Kaufdrop,

Have you received it?

I have one in the cart awaiting payment, but haven't clicked yet haha.

It does seem to have a slimmer top cap and bigger gap (0.4mm vs 0.25mm for the matte gold version).

Which one shaves more like a Tech?

View attachment 1607453

View attachment 1607454

I ordered one also on Wednesday Feb 15th so I will be joining in about 2-3 weeks from now. I bought it on the live sale for a discount so pulled the buy trigger. The old Mellon head is mild to tame mid range depending on technique used and I like using that razor when travelling. Hoping this is a tame mid range is more my liking for razors of lately.
Let us know how it shaves @kaufdrop27.

 

[lasta]

I ordered one also on Wednesday Feb 15th so I will be joining in about 2-3 weeks from now. I bought it on the live sale for a discount so pulled the trigger. The old Mellon head is mild to tame mid range depending on technique used and I like using that razor when travelling. Hoping this is a tame mid range is more my liking for razors of lately.
Let us know how it shaves @lasta.

Thanks!

I have the stainless and matte gold on order. Living in China, I'll probably get it early next week!

 

[Ron R]

Thanks!

I have the stainless and matte gold on order. Living in China, I'll probably get it early next week!

I have a gold Yaqi Mellon head also but mine is Zamak, did not know they had one in stainless gold. If it has blade tap overhang it is the Zamak model, the stainless steel ones have no blade tab exposure. I use mine gold Mellon head also and it is very enjoyable mild to tame mid range aggression, I'm happy with using it .

Have some great shaves!

 

[Ron R]

Thanks!

I have the stainless and matte gold on order. Living in China, I'll probably get it early next week!

Let us know how your stainless and Gold Mellon heads perform. You can even compare the 2 how they shave also.
Mellon comes from the original founder surname he patented in 1945, it did not have a long life cycle for what ever reason. It was invented by Joseph M. Mellon. Yaqi brought it back to life this little jewel back about 4 years ago 2018-19ish>. They just upped it even more with the stainless steel version.
The vintage model was called "The Grand Shave King" self lubricating double open comb razor". It was ahead of its day but never caught on and was a mild razor also some folks who have shaved with it.

 

[lasta]

Let us know how your stainless and Gold Mellon heads perform. You can even compare the 2 how they shave also.
Mellon comes from the original founder surname he patented in 1945, it did not have a long life cycle for what ever reason. It was invented by Joseph M. Mellon. Yaqi brought it back to life this little jewel back about 4 years ago 2018-19ish>. They just upped it even more with the stainless steel version.
The vintage model was called "Grand Razor made by Shave King".

Hi Ron, I must have wrote wrong, there is only one stainless. I ordered the matte gold Zamak too just to get an idea haha. I'm completely new to Melons!

 

[Ron R]

The Grande Shave king model was mild enough the combs left lather troughs of soap behind for each buffing pass and thus the self lubricating razor name was tagged on to it.
Just rinsing a little more often does the same purpose and it just works as well from my experiences with modern versions.
It will carry about 30 to 50% more water trapped in the top cap comb if a person chooses to do so, if a person does not want that self lubricating part to work just shave as usually and it works about the same depending on the soap lather qualitys.

 

[Ron R]

I found this old advertisement in my archive photos and thought it would be nice to be shown for time period when the Grande shave king razor was being promoted and the price it was back then while we wait for our new Yaqi Melon head razors to arrive.

Have some great shaves!

 

[lasta]

My Mellons are here.

I haven't shaved with either of them, but design-wise they are quite different. The steel has a bigger gap and looks like it will shave shallower.

 

[Ron R]

My Mellons are here.

I haven't shaved with either of them, but design-wise they are quite different. The steel has a bigger gap and looks like it will shave shallower.

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Excellent photo of the Zamak Mellon and new SS 316 version, 1st generation version Zamak head is thicker. According to their advertisement you will feel a little more blade feel because gap is .40 mm where the older model was slightly tighter around .25mm. I watched Sig Solo on You-tube shave with his 316 stainless Mellon head razor and he is like a gage for observing + his comments(he can be funny at times)+( if he gets nicked to much it is aggressive because he has sensitive skin ) and I would say it is around mid range razor(?), not sure if is a tame or aggressive mid range he never really mentioned that.
Looking forward to your reviews of what you think how it shaves.
I'm thinking steep angle shaving (riding the bar) would be good also on the new Yaqi 2nd Generation 316 Mellon head for a little smoother shaving!

 

[lasta]

First impressions of playing with two Melons at the same time; very good razors!



I used two semi-vintage French Gillette Super Stainless blades each with ~4 shaves on them to compare. Shaved the right side of my face with the original Melon, and left with the steel.

The original Melon definitely deserves the reputation it gets. Very smooth, mild-ish yet surprisingly efficient and the rounded teeth felt very smooth gliding across my face. I can see my self shaving very fast with this razor and not worry about nicks at all. Blade feel is about Tech level, maybe even a hair less, so definitely very forgiving. But efficiency is there too, a solid BBS- was achieved. A+ razor for sure, and at the single digit price it goes for, I think everyone should have one. I don't know why it took so long for me to notice...

As for the stainless, it seems like Yaqi spent some time mulling over the design. Alignment pin has been changed to bars, top cap is wider yet tapered thinner, baseplate is wider as well, and gap is definitely more noticeable. The blade tabs are completely covered.

On the face, blade feel is definitely there, more than the original for sure, but if the original is mild-tamed mid range, this one is still just a solid medium, no worries about daily use. I would put it above a Tech, maybe slightly higher than a Red Tip/Rocket, but not quite as much blade feel as the News.

If I were to shave with my eyes closed, the original Melon gets the nod. But personally, I'd probably reach for the steel more often on account of it being shiny shiny. Mirror polished razors get an automatic A+ in my books. I've polished quite a few razors myself, but the shine on this is far beyond what I'm capable of.

 

[Ron R]

First impressions of playing with two Melons at the same time; very good razors!

View attachment 1610382

I used two semi-vintage French Gillette Super Stainless blades each with ~4 shaves on them to compare. Shaved the right side of my face with the original Melon, and left with the steel.

The original Melon definitely deserves the reputation it gets. Very smooth, mild-ish yet surprisingly efficient and the rounded teeth felt very smooth gliding across my face. I can see my self shaving very fast with this razor and not worry about nicks at all. Blade feel is about Tech level, maybe even a hair less, so definitely very forgiving. But efficiency is there too, a solid BBS- was achieved. A+ razor for sure, and at the single digit price it goes for, I think everyone should have one. I don't know why it took so long for me to notice...

As for the stainless, it seems like Yaqi spent some time mulling over the design. Alignment pin has been changed to bars, top cap is wider yet tapered thinner, baseplate is wider as well, and gap is definitely more noticeable. The blade tabs are completely covered.

On the face, blade feel is definitely there, more than the original for sure, but if the original is mild-tamed mid range, this one is still just a solid medium, no worries about daily use. I would put it above a Tech, maybe slightly higher than a Red Tip/Rocket, but not quite as much blade feel as the News.

If I were to shave with my eyes closed, the original Melon gets the nod. But personally, I'd probably reach for the steel more often on account of it being shiny shiny. Mirror polished razors get an automatic A+ in my books. I've polished quite a few razors myself, but the shine on this is far beyond what I'm capable of.

Great review and I like the way you used your reference of a Gillette tech razor & other know Gillette razors as the standard gage to use as a comparison so folks can relate. I thought it would be a mid range with the new Yaqi SS Mellon head also and you confirmed that from your early experiences shaving. The Yaqi 1st generation Mellon Zamak razor is a user friendly razor for anyone and especially a Newbie to learn from and just seasoned shavers who want a mild razor shave. Can't wait to try my new Yaqi 316 SS razor when it arrives in a couple weeks. I'm surprized it is not selling a lot of them yet because there is a lot of folks who enjoy the first version by Yaqi, folks are waiting to see how the 2nd Generation SS Mellon head shaves I'm guessing. Glade you had a enjoyable shave with the Mellon razors by Yaqi . I also like those handles you have on the razors, you do not see many like those either( they kind of look elegant or luxury eye candy).Thanks for sharing!

 

[lasta]

Great review and I like the way you used your reference of a Gillette tech razor & other know Gillette razors as the standard gage to use as a comparison so folks can relate. I thought it would be a mid range with the new Yaqi SS Mellon head also and you confirmed that from your early experiences shaving. The Yaqi 1st generation Mellon Zamak razor is a user friendly razor for anyone and especially a Newbie to learn from and just seasoned shavers who want a mild razor shave. Can't wait to try my new Yaqi 316 SS razor when it arrives in a couple weeks. I'm surprized it is not selling a lot of them yet because there is a lot of folks who enjoy the first version by Yaqi, folks are waiting to see how the 2nd Generation SS Mellon head shaves I'm guessing. Glade you had a enjoyable shave with the Mellon razors by Yaqi . I also like those handles you have on the razors, you do not see many like those either( they kind of look elegant or luxury eye candy).Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Ron,

Yaqi Mellon is underrated for sure. I still can't get over how shiny this thing is! At <1/10th the price of some other CNC + polished varieties.

I was less than impressed with a few DS Cosmetic razors, but Yaqi has stepped up for sure!

The handles were custom made, a bit slippery, but I'm a sucker for form over function. A few days ago, they guy told me he's back in business. So if you have a few designs in mind, let me know, I'll put it in with my next order.