The Association of Yates Owners - AYO

[StewB]

Thursday's shave -

Razor: Yates Winning (v1)
Blade: 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (1)
Lather: Moon Soap "Amaretto"
Aftershave: Afta "Fresh"

I still like the original "Wet Shaving Club" Winning razor. It's mild, yet somehow efficient, due to its head design.

 

[Kix]

November 11, 2024 Monday shave

Razor: Yates Precision 921 Medium, brass
Blade: Gillette Perma-Sharp (1)
Soap: Barrister and Mann Le Grand Chypre
Brush: Padadin Tut re-knotted with Muhle STF XL
Bowl: Captain's Choice Heavyweight copper
Aftershave: Aqua Velva Ice Blue

This was a three pass shave (WTG, XTG, ATG) of two days stubble. After 5 shaves with it, the Yates 921 is proving to be a great razor. It's well made and gives a very close but comfortable shave with no weepers, etc. Also used was B&M Le Grand Chypre and the Rudy Vey STF XL brush; a truly great combination. I couldn't ask for a better shave today.

 

[NEPA507]

Is Yates c/s bad or is it just bad timing? I ordered the Winning when they put it back in stock online and it said in multiple spots including the FAQ and product description it had a 1-3 week lead time. It is now going on 2 months so I emailed them asking for an update with no answer. My order was still at the bottom of the progress page. Now that the website is being updated their banner says to just email them with questions so I sent another polite email and have been ignored 3 times so even if I wanted to cancel my order for a refund I can't do that as the holidays are coming up. I completely get they are a small business and family team, but I don't like being ghosted by anybody. Even an email saying "sorry we're behind" or some recognition of concern would be appreciated so it's a bit disheartening if I have a problem with the product in the future. Lifetime warranty is pretty useless if a company ignores you. Perhaps it's good business for them then since it reduces cost

 

[Lurking_Grue]

Is Yates c/s bad or is it just bad timing? I ordered the Winning when they put it back in stock online and it said in multiple spots including the FAQ and product description it had a 1-3 week lead time. It is now going on 2 months so I emailed them asking for an update with no answer. My order was still at the bottom of the progress page. Now that the website is being updated their banner says to just email them with questions so I sent another polite email and have been ignored 3 times so even if I wanted to cancel my order for a refund I can't do that as the holidays are coming up. I completely get they are a small business and family team, but I don't like being ghosted by anybody. Even an email saying "sorry we're behind" or some recognition of concern would be appreciated so it's a bit disheartening if I have a problem with the product in the future. Lifetime warranty is pretty useless if a company ignores you. Perhaps it's good business for them then since it reduces cost

I feel like Yates products are fantastic, but to me it looks like they're in over their head. I'm not going to play armchair psychologist too much, but Jake seems like a really smart and good guy who does great work, but doesn't seem to love dealing with a griping public. I also get the sense there was some burnout going on.

Just watching his YouTube videos (a project which also seems to have been abandoned), I suspect that the razor-making has not made him independently wealthy, nor has it provided him enough satisfaction to put up with all the nonsense and grief that comes with running such a boutique company.

Scaling up is hard, and there's likely some bottleneck that the Yates folks have hit in terms of production and staffing vs income. In fact, I understand that Jake actually sold one of his CNC machines, so their production will likely drop further. They've also raised prices over the last couple years.

I love my razor, and its my #1, but it took months for it to arrive, and things were pretty silent until it just showed up one day. If you're not willing to put up with that, I suppose you could do a charge-back on your credit card. I don't think there's been a situation where someone's razor ordered didn't eventually arrive, but I agree that their customer service has gone to near nothing.

I waited and would wait again if I was going to get something to accompany my Ti Winning, but I can see why people would not want to bother when there's so many outstanding options out there.

 

[Lil Cooties]

Razor: Yates Precision Stainless Winning
Blade: BIC Chrome Platinum (2nd use, chucked halfway for fresh blade)
Brush: YAQI Robin Tuxedo
Cream: Pure by Gillette
Aftershave Balm: Nivea Sensitive

First shave the other day with this particular blade was rough, today wasn't better, so I switched it for a fresh one halfway through the shave and it was night and day difference. I usually hesitate bad shaves on dud blades because usually it's my technique, but this was definitely a dud blade this time. First time experiencing that with BICs. Good shave in the end though.

 

[NEPA507]

I feel like Yates products are fantastic, but to me it looks like they're in over their head. I'm not going to play armchair psychologist too much, but Jake seems like a really smart and good guy who does great work, but doesn't seem to love dealing with a griping public. I also get the sense there was some burnout going on.

Just watching his YouTube videos (a project which also seems to have been abandoned), I suspect that the razor-making has not made him independently wealthy, nor has it provided him enough satisfaction to put up with all the nonsense and grief that comes with running such a boutique company.

Scaling up is hard, and there's likely some bottleneck that the Yates folks have hit in terms of production and staffing vs income. In fact, I understand that Jake actually sold one of his CNC machines, so their production will likely drop further. They've also raised prices over the last couple years.

I love my razor, and its my #1, but it took months for it to arrive, and things were pretty silent until it just showed up one day. If you're not willing to put up with that, I suppose you could do a charge-back on your credit card. I don't think there's been a situation where someone's razor ordered didn't eventually arrive, but I agree that their customer service has gone to near nothing.

I waited and would wait again if I was going to get something to accompany my Ti Winning, but I can see why people would not want to bother when there's so many outstanding options out there.

I appreciate the detailed response and understanding from your side. I get it, people suck. I've been in sales all my life so really try not to take it out on them and made sure my emails came across as a friendly bump and not a blame on them. I will continue to wait and see what happens, and honestly I hope I love the razor when it arrives and earns a spot in the rotation as I'm thinning the heard in the near future. But you're also right there's lots of competition and business is business. If you can't love what you do, earn enough money to support the things you do like. And if you can't do either, then I think people need to find a new path. Whether that's the case here who knows based on what you hinted at, but on a human level I support anybody who is on the pursuit towards happiness whatever that means.

 

[m949]

Razor: Yates 921-EH SB on Blackbird handle (machined)
Blade: Feather
Brush: Mühle Purist Silvertip Badger Ebonite
Soap: Gentleman's NOD - Bluegrass Muse (sample)
A/S: Old Spice - Classic
EdP: Boss - The Scent Intense

Today I tried the Blackbird handle on the Yates and it fit perfectly without the need for stacking washers. Aside from the good looks, the razor was rather well balanced in this combination and it was easy to navigate over the shaving areas.

The shave was quite okay. I'd rate it a BBS-, but only because I had to stop shaving the neck after two passes due to some irritation. I think the EH plate is better paired with a less sharp blade, a Feather might just be a tad too much in this razor. Maybe it will fare better with the H plate.

A big Thank you goes to @GoodShave for chiming in on which handles will work on the Yates. I'm glad that I have some of them in my rotation to try out. His thread on handles compatible with the Yates 921 is highly informative and of course I've put it in my "Watched" list. For those of you who like a bit of handle variety, you can find all information on which handles will work on your 921 here.