No shipping email from Yates yet though their website doesn't make any mention of how quickly orders ship. I emailed Karve on Sunday or Monday to cancel my order and no response to that yet either. 
The new brass 'Merica razor
- Thread starter Shave Souffle
- Start date
Advice, contact Yates on Instagram he is much quicker to respondNo shipping email from Yates yet though their website doesn't make any mention of how quickly orders ship. I emailed Karve on Sunday or Monday to cancel my order and no response to that yet either.
- Thread starter
- #23
I still find it an odd way to run a company by ignoring your customers, and even years later the same problems exist. Hire a social media intern to deal with this stuff. Boom. Done.No shipping email from Yates yet though their website doesn't make any mention of how quickly orders ship. I emailed Karve on Sunday or Monday to cancel my order and no response to that yet either.
I hate to tell you I had the same experience and ended up having to file a case with Paypal to get my money back. I hope you don't have to go through that.I emailed Karve on Sunday or Monday to cancel my order and no response to that yet either.
Did that 3 hours ago, message hasn't been seen but they posted a new reel an hour ago so who knows. I'm not worried about not receiving my order but just want to know how long of a wait to expect since they have no shipping section on their website.
I hope I don't either but I fully expect i'll have to do a chargeback.
My experience occurred earlier this year. Since I'm still keen on an Overlander, I was thinking recently that enough time had gone by, maybe cut Karve some slack, get the razor. But apparently they still maintain the same business practices. It would be crazy to send them more money.
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It may be strange but the last order with karve I got a handle and a cap
In the email it was written 4 weeks preparation time, after 2 days he sent me the goods!
It was a CUBR handle and cap
Crazy...non-existent customer service
Good news is I emailed Jake Yates directly and he replied back to let me know my order should ship in the next 3-4 days!
I bought my Merica razor before Yates acquired the brand. So I "timely" received "an existing razor" within a short period of time.
When Merice Razor acquired by Yates I started to think it is good and bad news.
Good news because may be Jake-Yates might consider to power up Merica razor and may produce an aggressive plate for Merica.
Bad news is the very long waiting period to receive your razor.
p.s. I bought a Yates with 3 plates Standart - H and EH and wait "long time" and gave up finally cancelled my order. Worst customer service ever...
When Merice Razor acquired by Yates I started to think it is good and bad news.
Good news because may be Jake-Yates might consider to power up Merica razor and may produce an aggressive plate for Merica.
Bad news is the very long waiting period to receive your razor.
p.s. I bought a Yates with 3 plates Standart - H and EH and wait "long time" and gave up finally cancelled my order. Worst customer service ever...
- Thread starter
- #31
Same thing I cancelled my order last summer when the BYOR (build you own razor) was introduced. Waited so long I cancelled 2 complete razors. He didn't seem phased by it, no "sorry I lost your business" kind of thing, or "sorry for the long delay". Nothing.
To add insult to injury now when you buy the individual plates that cost $20-$30 more than they used to cost when they were sold as "individual components" as opposed to the money grab of the BYOR thing, but you also have to pay an extra $10 just to get the name engraved, and then if you wanted the serial number that's ALSO an extra $10, and the date isn't like 10/22/23... it's a date code you'd have to email Jake to find out when it was manufactured. All of this used to be included with the baseplate when you bought it for like $30-$34.
My order of the Yates EH hybrid baseplate in brass wasn't engraved since I didn't want a $10-$20 upcharge, but I was disappointed the box it came in doesn't even have the baseplate type listed like it used to when I ordered individual baseplates.
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Great looking razor! 
Thanks for the report.
Thanks for the report.
Still no shipping email for the ‘Merica razor I ordered on 10/17. Hoping to get one tomorrow or Monday.
For those reading, the Yates web site has the following comment:
I would guess that if it's been longer than 5 weeks, then they should be able to provide a status.
I would guess that if it's been longer than 5 weeks, then they should be able to provide a status.
Jake sent me a screenshot in his reply to me last week showing the up to a week or more wait time which is no where really in plain sight on the website right now. But good thing is they updated the Where is My Order page to now show where orders in the queue (didn't see this last week) and my order is done and waiting to ship! Looking forward to receiving it and comparing it to the Game Changer.
One idiot’s Review of the ‘Merica Razor by Yates Precision Manufacturing, LLC.
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF): A very nice, solid brass, mild to mid-aggressive, hefty razor that is competitively priced with similar razors. Other on-line positive reviews definitely hit the nail on the head. I am happy with this purchase, and recommend taking a look at the ‘Merica Razor to anyone looking for a similar razor.
DISCLAIMER: This is a subjective, one idiot’s review. Check other on-line reviews. As always, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
This is a mostly subjective review of the Yates Precision Manufacturing, LLC., ‘Merica Razor, Stainless Steel Safety Razor, Merica - Yates Precision Manufacturing - Yates Precision Manufacturing, LLC - https://yatesprecision.com/collections/safety-razors/products/merica-brass-safety-razor . For comparison, I will be comparing it to a Rockwell 6S (my daily shaver upon which I learned to shave) and, to a lesser extent, a Merkur 33C.
THE SPECS: According to Yates’ website:
• 3-piece razor: top cap, base plate, handle;
• Solid brass construction (except for the super-cool magnet on the butt of the handle);
• Blade gap: 0.533 mm (0.021 in.);
• Blade exposure: neutral;
• Handle length: 79.375 mm (3.125 in.);
• Total length: 88.9 mm (3.5 in.);
• Weight (no blade, on my scale): 102.2 grams (3.6 ounces)
COST: Listed price (December 2023) was US$90.00. At the time of ordering, Yates offered 10% off for a first-time purchase, so US$81.00 plus shipping. Wahoo! Very competitive with other brass, and stainless-steel razors.
ORDERING & SHIPPING: Suffering a mild case of RAD (Razor Acquisition Disorder), I had been wanting a brass razor for some time. After hemming and hawing for several months, I decided to give myself a Christmas present. I ordering the razor from Yates website on 27 December 2023. Ordering from the website was simple and straight forward. The razor was shipped from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, on 9 January 2024, and arrived in Hawaii on 13 January 2024. Not a bad turn-around time for a crafted brass razor from a small-business, especially when you consider this was immediately post-Christmas and over the New Year’s holiday.
The razor was shipped in small, but very strong, plain white cardboard box. Inside, the razor, and a complementary box of Astra blades, were in a nice burlap-looking drawstring sack that was wrapped in bubble wrap. Simple; effective; no issues with the packaging.
CONSTRUCTION: This thing is pretty indestructible.
The ‘Merica Razor is machined from solid brass, no coating. Machining was top notch: no mismatched parts, no burrs, no scratches, no blemishes, no complaints. It is pretty obvious that Yates Manufacturing takes pride in their work.
Although the cap has indentions on the side allowing you to see razor blade tabs, the cap with base plate does cover the blade tabs. No more blade tabs nicking the underside of your nose or catching where your ear meets your neck.
I also noticed that the width of the cap and base plate are not as wide North-South as with other razors, indicating that the blade is under more tension (curved more) when clamped down onto the base plate, which seems to eliminate any blade chatter. Blade alignment in the cap and base plate were spot on.
The spiraling on the handle provides a nice grip in wet and soapy conditions with no slipping. The magnet on the butt of the razor, allowing you to pick up easily a razor blade, is pure genius. Threading on the handle perfectly fit the threads on the cap post, making screwing the handle into and out of the cap post a breeze.
It is a very nicely made razor. It has a magnet on the butt of the handle, and you can get it with an American flag on it if you want.
THE COMPARISON SPECS: I will be comparing the ‘Merica Razor primarily to the Rockwell 6S and, to a lesser extent, a Merkur 33C. Comparison razor specs are:
The Rockwell 6s:
THE TOOLS & TECHNIQUE: Em’s Place Bay Rum glycerin shaving soap (great soap) alternating with Proraso Sensitive Skin (white) shave cream; Omega boar’s hair bush (pig good); silicon collapsible slow-feed dog bowl shaving bowl (makes great lather); new Astra blade (my go-to blade) for 3 shaves; then new Personna Lab Blue (also a great blade) for 4 shaves; daily a 1-days’ worth of average beard coarseness stubble on an averagely sensitive face; finished with Moa Kia’i Bay Rum aftershave.
I am a daily shaver and my shaves are either 2.5 passes (North-South with the grain; East-West across the grain on the face, South-North on the neck, plus touch up on my trouble area chin), or 3 passes (North-South; East-West on the face; South-North against the grain on face and neck).
SHAVE RESULTS: This is a very nice mild to mid-aggressive, efficient, heavy razor. 2.5 pass haves gave me a DFS (Damn Fine Shave). 3 pass shaves gave a BBS (Baby Butt Smooth) shave. No razor burn on either the 2.5 or 3 pass shave.
RAZOR WEIGHT: I prefer a heavier razor and the ‘Merica fits the bill.
I prefer a heavier razor to a light razor. The difference in weight between the ‘Merica and the Rockwell 6S is negligible – both have some real heft, which I like. The difference between the ‘Merica and the light Merkur 33C is noticeable, which may be why I never really warmed up to the 33C (Itself a nice razor, just not for me.). If you like a razor with some weight, the ‘Merica is something to consider.
FINDING THE SHAVE ANGLE: Finding the correct shaving angle was easy.
The angles on the East-West sides of the cap make finding the proper shave angle very easy with the ‘Merica. No guessing; very intuitive. Finding shaving angles on the ‘Merica and the Rockwell were about the same; finding the shaving angle for the ‘Merica is easier for me than with the Merkur 33c.
SMOOTHNESS: The ‘Merica is a very smooth razor.
The Rockwell is one of the smoothest razors I have ever used but the ‘Merica Razor is right behind it. While not quite as smooth as a Rockwell 6S, the difference is really very slight. Like the Rockwell 6S’s matt-finished stainless-steel cap, the matt-finished brass cap on the ‘Merica did not drag on the skin, but it is efficient so you may need to re-lather for a second pass touch-up. In similar situations, I sometimes get cap drag with a polished cap such as on the Merkur or on the Rockwell 2C / 6C. Generally, no drag with the ‘Merica.
BLADE FEEL: Like other reviewers, I rate this as a mild to mid-aggressive razor.
Since I cannot find blade exposure stats for the Rockwell or Merkur, I have to go on my purely subjective review. There is more blade feel with the ‘Merica neutral blade exposure than the Rockwell 6S on a 3 plate (Possible negative blade exposure on the 3 plate?), but not as much as with the 6S on a 4 plate. Bade feel on the Merkur is about the same but the ‘Merica is smoother for me.
My daily razor is the 6S 3 plate, whose (unknown) blade exposure has just the right amount of blade feel. The Rockwell 6S 4 plate (whose blade exposure is also unknown) is a bit too much for my beard and skin: After using a 4 plate, my face and neck feel razor burn and look like I just came out of a knife fight. The ‘Merica, with its neutral blade exposure, does give you some more blade feel that the 6S 3 plate but without the fear factor of the 4 plate. Consider it a Rockwell “3.5 plate.”
Comparing the ‘Merica to the Merkur 33C, I put blade feel at about the same, but with the ‘Merica being a bit smoother for me than the 33C.
EFFICIENCY: Although smooth, the ‘Merica Razor is also efficient in removing stubble.
The ‘Merica is a bit more efficient at removing 1-days’ worth of whiskers than the 6S 3 plate. However, there is nothing scary about using it, and there were no nicks or weepers attributable to the razor. Again, I put the ‘Merica at a Rockwell 6S “3.5 plate,” which makes sense since the ‘Merica’s 0.533 mm blade gap is between the 3 plate’s 0.48 mm and 4 plate’s 0.61 mm.
The ‘Merica Razor is perhaps slightly more aggressive that the Merkur 33C even though the Merkur has a slightly greater blade gap (0.56 mm for the Merkur vs. 0.533 mm for the ‘Merica). The difference may be due to the additional weight of the hefty ‘Merica razor over the light Merkur 33C. However, again, there is nothing scary about using the ‘Merica.
LONGEVITY: This razor should outlast me.
Both the ‘Merica Razor and the Rockwell 6S are built like tanks and, absent total stupidity by me, should long outlast me. While the Merkur 33C has a durable brass handle, its weak point is probably the threaded post on the Zamak cap, which I understand can be snapped off.
BONUS ROUND: Patina.
As an added bonus, the ‘Merica’s uncoated bass will begin to develop a nice patina that will be unique to my razor. If it ever gets too much patina (Is there such a thing?), I can clean it with ketchup or very mild brass cleaners. If patina is not your thing, you like a right-out-of-the factory look, or do not like regular razor deep-cleaning, then the brass ‘Merica may not be for you (However, Yates does make a stainless steel ‘Merica that has also gotten very good reviews.).
CONCLUSION: A very well made, rugged, smooth, mild to mid-aggressive, hefty razor that is competitively priced. While I will never retire my first razor, the Rockwell 6S (You never forget your first love.), I will definitely add the ‘Merica to the regular razor rotation. This is a really nice razor. If you are looking for this type of razor, then I highly recommend taking a look at the ‘Merica brass razor.
Finally, this is just one idiot’s review and I recommend Googling “’Merica razor review” for more professional reviews of this razor and its stainless-steel sibling. As always, YMMV.
Happy shaving, ‘Merica!
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT (BLUF): A very nice, solid brass, mild to mid-aggressive, hefty razor that is competitively priced with similar razors. Other on-line positive reviews definitely hit the nail on the head. I am happy with this purchase, and recommend taking a look at the ‘Merica Razor to anyone looking for a similar razor.
DISCLAIMER: This is a subjective, one idiot’s review. Check other on-line reviews. As always, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).
This is a mostly subjective review of the Yates Precision Manufacturing, LLC., ‘Merica Razor, Stainless Steel Safety Razor, Merica - Yates Precision Manufacturing - Yates Precision Manufacturing, LLC - https://yatesprecision.com/collections/safety-razors/products/merica-brass-safety-razor . For comparison, I will be comparing it to a Rockwell 6S (my daily shaver upon which I learned to shave) and, to a lesser extent, a Merkur 33C.
THE SPECS: According to Yates’ website:
• 3-piece razor: top cap, base plate, handle;
• Solid brass construction (except for the super-cool magnet on the butt of the handle);
• Blade gap: 0.533 mm (0.021 in.);
• Blade exposure: neutral;
• Handle length: 79.375 mm (3.125 in.);
• Total length: 88.9 mm (3.5 in.);
• Weight (no blade, on my scale): 102.2 grams (3.6 ounces)
COST: Listed price (December 2023) was US$90.00. At the time of ordering, Yates offered 10% off for a first-time purchase, so US$81.00 plus shipping. Wahoo! Very competitive with other brass, and stainless-steel razors.
ORDERING & SHIPPING: Suffering a mild case of RAD (Razor Acquisition Disorder), I had been wanting a brass razor for some time. After hemming and hawing for several months, I decided to give myself a Christmas present. I ordering the razor from Yates website on 27 December 2023. Ordering from the website was simple and straight forward. The razor was shipped from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, on 9 January 2024, and arrived in Hawaii on 13 January 2024. Not a bad turn-around time for a crafted brass razor from a small-business, especially when you consider this was immediately post-Christmas and over the New Year’s holiday.
The razor was shipped in small, but very strong, plain white cardboard box. Inside, the razor, and a complementary box of Astra blades, were in a nice burlap-looking drawstring sack that was wrapped in bubble wrap. Simple; effective; no issues with the packaging.
CONSTRUCTION: This thing is pretty indestructible.
The ‘Merica Razor is machined from solid brass, no coating. Machining was top notch: no mismatched parts, no burrs, no scratches, no blemishes, no complaints. It is pretty obvious that Yates Manufacturing takes pride in their work.
Although the cap has indentions on the side allowing you to see razor blade tabs, the cap with base plate does cover the blade tabs. No more blade tabs nicking the underside of your nose or catching where your ear meets your neck.
I also noticed that the width of the cap and base plate are not as wide North-South as with other razors, indicating that the blade is under more tension (curved more) when clamped down onto the base plate, which seems to eliminate any blade chatter. Blade alignment in the cap and base plate were spot on.
The spiraling on the handle provides a nice grip in wet and soapy conditions with no slipping. The magnet on the butt of the razor, allowing you to pick up easily a razor blade, is pure genius. Threading on the handle perfectly fit the threads on the cap post, making screwing the handle into and out of the cap post a breeze.
It is a very nicely made razor. It has a magnet on the butt of the handle, and you can get it with an American flag on it if you want.
THE COMPARISON SPECS: I will be comparing the ‘Merica Razor primarily to the Rockwell 6S and, to a lesser extent, a Merkur 33C. Comparison razor specs are:
The Rockwell 6s:
- 3-piece razor: top cap, base plate, handle;
- Solid 316L stainless steel construction (raw stainless-steel version);
- Blade gaps, 3 plate: 0.48 mm (0.019 in.); 4 plate: 0.61 mm (0.024 in.)
- Blade exposure: Unknown; not stated; seems to be a closely guarded secret;
- Handle length: 88 mm (3.47 in.);
- Total length: 95 mm (3.74 in.);
- Weight (no blade): 118 grams (4.16 ounces).
- 3-piece razor: top cap, base plate, handle;
- Chrome-plated brass handle, chrome-plated Zamak zinc alloy cap and base plate;
- Blade gap: Around 0.56 mm (0.022 in.). Merkur does not state the blade gap and reviews go from 0.56 mm to 0.71 mm (0.022 in. to 0.028 in.). I am using 0.56 mm based on Double-Edged Safety Razors Ranked by Blade Gap - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/wiki/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Blade_Gap . However, YBGMV (Your Blade Gap May Vary).
- Blade exposure: Again, unknown; not stated; seems to be a closely guarded secret;
- Handle length: 77 mm (3.031 inches):
- Total length 84 (3.3 inches);
- Weight (no blade, on my scale): 55.8 grams (1.97 oz.).
THE TOOLS & TECHNIQUE: Em’s Place Bay Rum glycerin shaving soap (great soap) alternating with Proraso Sensitive Skin (white) shave cream; Omega boar’s hair bush (pig good); silicon collapsible slow-feed dog bowl shaving bowl (makes great lather); new Astra blade (my go-to blade) for 3 shaves; then new Personna Lab Blue (also a great blade) for 4 shaves; daily a 1-days’ worth of average beard coarseness stubble on an averagely sensitive face; finished with Moa Kia’i Bay Rum aftershave.
I am a daily shaver and my shaves are either 2.5 passes (North-South with the grain; East-West across the grain on the face, South-North on the neck, plus touch up on my trouble area chin), or 3 passes (North-South; East-West on the face; South-North against the grain on face and neck).
SHAVE RESULTS: This is a very nice mild to mid-aggressive, efficient, heavy razor. 2.5 pass haves gave me a DFS (Damn Fine Shave). 3 pass shaves gave a BBS (Baby Butt Smooth) shave. No razor burn on either the 2.5 or 3 pass shave.
RAZOR WEIGHT: I prefer a heavier razor and the ‘Merica fits the bill.
I prefer a heavier razor to a light razor. The difference in weight between the ‘Merica and the Rockwell 6S is negligible – both have some real heft, which I like. The difference between the ‘Merica and the light Merkur 33C is noticeable, which may be why I never really warmed up to the 33C (Itself a nice razor, just not for me.). If you like a razor with some weight, the ‘Merica is something to consider.
FINDING THE SHAVE ANGLE: Finding the correct shaving angle was easy.
The angles on the East-West sides of the cap make finding the proper shave angle very easy with the ‘Merica. No guessing; very intuitive. Finding shaving angles on the ‘Merica and the Rockwell were about the same; finding the shaving angle for the ‘Merica is easier for me than with the Merkur 33c.
SMOOTHNESS: The ‘Merica is a very smooth razor.
The Rockwell is one of the smoothest razors I have ever used but the ‘Merica Razor is right behind it. While not quite as smooth as a Rockwell 6S, the difference is really very slight. Like the Rockwell 6S’s matt-finished stainless-steel cap, the matt-finished brass cap on the ‘Merica did not drag on the skin, but it is efficient so you may need to re-lather for a second pass touch-up. In similar situations, I sometimes get cap drag with a polished cap such as on the Merkur or on the Rockwell 2C / 6C. Generally, no drag with the ‘Merica.
BLADE FEEL: Like other reviewers, I rate this as a mild to mid-aggressive razor.
Since I cannot find blade exposure stats for the Rockwell or Merkur, I have to go on my purely subjective review. There is more blade feel with the ‘Merica neutral blade exposure than the Rockwell 6S on a 3 plate (Possible negative blade exposure on the 3 plate?), but not as much as with the 6S on a 4 plate. Bade feel on the Merkur is about the same but the ‘Merica is smoother for me.
My daily razor is the 6S 3 plate, whose (unknown) blade exposure has just the right amount of blade feel. The Rockwell 6S 4 plate (whose blade exposure is also unknown) is a bit too much for my beard and skin: After using a 4 plate, my face and neck feel razor burn and look like I just came out of a knife fight. The ‘Merica, with its neutral blade exposure, does give you some more blade feel that the 6S 3 plate but without the fear factor of the 4 plate. Consider it a Rockwell “3.5 plate.”
Comparing the ‘Merica to the Merkur 33C, I put blade feel at about the same, but with the ‘Merica being a bit smoother for me than the 33C.
EFFICIENCY: Although smooth, the ‘Merica Razor is also efficient in removing stubble.
The ‘Merica is a bit more efficient at removing 1-days’ worth of whiskers than the 6S 3 plate. However, there is nothing scary about using it, and there were no nicks or weepers attributable to the razor. Again, I put the ‘Merica at a Rockwell 6S “3.5 plate,” which makes sense since the ‘Merica’s 0.533 mm blade gap is between the 3 plate’s 0.48 mm and 4 plate’s 0.61 mm.
The ‘Merica Razor is perhaps slightly more aggressive that the Merkur 33C even though the Merkur has a slightly greater blade gap (0.56 mm for the Merkur vs. 0.533 mm for the ‘Merica). The difference may be due to the additional weight of the hefty ‘Merica razor over the light Merkur 33C. However, again, there is nothing scary about using the ‘Merica.
LONGEVITY: This razor should outlast me.
Both the ‘Merica Razor and the Rockwell 6S are built like tanks and, absent total stupidity by me, should long outlast me. While the Merkur 33C has a durable brass handle, its weak point is probably the threaded post on the Zamak cap, which I understand can be snapped off.
BONUS ROUND: Patina.
As an added bonus, the ‘Merica’s uncoated bass will begin to develop a nice patina that will be unique to my razor. If it ever gets too much patina (Is there such a thing?), I can clean it with ketchup or very mild brass cleaners. If patina is not your thing, you like a right-out-of-the factory look, or do not like regular razor deep-cleaning, then the brass ‘Merica may not be for you (However, Yates does make a stainless steel ‘Merica that has also gotten very good reviews.).
CONCLUSION: A very well made, rugged, smooth, mild to mid-aggressive, hefty razor that is competitively priced. While I will never retire my first razor, the Rockwell 6S (You never forget your first love.), I will definitely add the ‘Merica to the regular razor rotation. This is a really nice razor. If you are looking for this type of razor, then I highly recommend taking a look at the ‘Merica brass razor.
Finally, this is just one idiot’s review and I recommend Googling “’Merica razor review” for more professional reviews of this razor and its stainless-steel sibling. As always, YMMV.
Happy shaving, ‘Merica!
