Great video, I have the Razorock SLOC (zamak) and the Yaqi V1 Mellon head (zamak) and they are the same heads, more than likely made in the same factory. I like the SLOC and the Yaqi V1 Mellon heads and have used them for years. I also have the Yaqi V2 mellon head 316 and it has a touch more blade feel and is a tame mid to mid range razor. The Mellon razor head was created by Mr Mellon in the 1930's - 40's(The Grande Shave King self lubricating razor) & it was very mild and Mr Mellon had a few different variants of that razor head and they where all very mild razors. The RR SLOC or Yaqi Mellon head are affordable for Greenhorns or fellows who enjoy a nice easy going shave IMO. I really enjoy the Yaqi V2 Mellon SSP head also and bought it right away when it was available from Yaqi, it has become almost in my regular weekly rotation of many razors (another great deal.)
@ronr8800 I did not find that to be the case for me. The SLOC has more blade feel and wants to bite me. The yaqi melon zamac does not do that or feel that way. To me the yaqi melon SS and the SLOC feel very close and much harder to tell apart. Yaqi sent me the melon Zamac free & I had 0 intentions of using it assuming it was identical to the sloc as it looked so similar. My buddy insisted I try it thats it’s more mild then the sloc or melon SS & I tend found the same using them for me anyways. YMMV
Have you tried the King C Gillette blades from china, sharp as feather only 10 times smoother. I’m getting about a weeks worth of comfortable shaves out of them. Great video by the way.
Another alternative is the Yaqi The Final Cut Open comb. It's a pity that the Yaqi The Final Cut Closed comb don't have the same head design of the open-comb neither the initial gap.
No need to worry about Gillette or non-Gillette. So very many different double edge blades products! One can possibly buy several DIFFERENT individual samples none of which need be Gillettes, and find at least a few which work very well for the person.
@10floz30minutes I’ve tried countless. Most suck 😂 Willy’s, filoso so far have been standouts. Some Bic, some personnna, 7amsharp, some treet. I have some. I’m just picky and always looking as u said lots of options!
Hey buddy I've been looking for a channel that loves mild razors and ive finally found you. Im fairly new to the wet shaving world, as you can probably guess i made the switch from cartridge and jumped on to the henson hype. Im using the henson mild version which is not bad but I find it still leave's stubble behind after one pass as thats all i can manage one pass because of the sensitivity of my skin. Can you recommend recommend a razor for me that will cut the stubble a little closer for a more cleaner looking shave. Thanks
@samsungalaxy-be9oe 1 pass bbs is very hard to pull off unless u have very mild hair….or a aggressive razor which usually doesn’t work well for sensitive skin. The skin does get more used to shaving but a mild razor is probably your best bet. Aylesworth apex aluminum, Karve overlander, goodfellas styletto would be my top non adjustable pics for you. You may be better off with an adjustable razor so u can adjust as needed to find the effeciency you are after by changing the base plate etc. I would suggest a Rockwell 6c or superior cuts 3D razor. The superior cuts it’s very smooth and forgiving even on the highest gap 1.4 plate he sells! I love the 1.0 plate but I would suggest getting the .4/.6/.8 plates to start and if u want more try the next set. For me the 1.0 /1.2 are still very smooth but high efficiency.
@@Stubblemeetssteelthank you for replying, for the last hour or so I've been checking out your videos and man you have some great razors, it's so hard to choose from. I want to try them all what you use, You have a beautiful collection. The bbs I'm trying to get from one pass will not happen like you say and you are right, I'm just dreaming if I think that will happen, the Henson mild I'm currently using and I've tried feather blades in it by the way, Kai blades, astra platinums but no matter what blade I seem to use it's still leaving a lengthy stubble behind if that makes sense. I'm too scared at the minute to try across the growth and against the grain passes because I know if I do when my stubbles starts growing back a day or so later I will end up with bumps and ingrown hairs
The very typical strong recommendation is Mild Razor and SHARP Blade. Also, one should expect to make two passes using lather, and then a few smaller partial passes to adequately shave off stubborn remaining extents of whiskers. TWO passes should be ideal.
@samsungalaxy-be9oe I would suggest a face lather and try going with the grain twice and see how that does. If still stumble try with the grain and 2nd pass across. See how that does. Lastly try with and against the grain. You will find your magic combo. I can not get bbs in 1 pass with any razor or blade combo. I have to go ATG on my neck to get bbs. With mild but efficient razors I can do that no problem. More aggressive razors old irritate me more.
I tried your shim idea on my only DE razor - a 15 y/o Ikon OC razor and I was pleasantly surprised by the improved performance on my medium dense, very coarse 3 day beard. One pass was enough smooth to stop - a record short shave for me. Thanks for the idea - new sub. I'd like to purchase a closed comb razor which could provide a good enough one pass - I'm thinking about the Razorock Lupo 127, slants and given the success of the Alysworth Apex efficiency on your beard after the GC razor, I'm thinking about that too in SS form. Another option would be an adjustable but the price of for these razors is quite shocking especially in SS form. Any recommendation would help me to narrow the list. Thanks and keep the comparison videos going as they're very helpful. I suggest testing razors without blades at all just to see if the type of metal and level of polish makes a difference on ease of gliding and skin comfort.
@aovint63 glad the shim trick worked for the ikon. Sounds like you would like more medium aggressive razors with your beard type. I need to try a shim in my aluminum lupo and see if it makes it smoother or not. Sometimes oddly opening the gap I find smoothes things out. I haven’t used the high gap lupo so I can’t comment 1st hand. A friend has them and really likes them. If what I’ve used in the medium aggressive razor category the muhle Rocca is my pic. Stainless steel, great feel & balance. The thick handle feels great. Nice audible feedback. I find it the smoothest of the medium razors & one of the best feeling handles. If you also want to try a cheap slant try the Parker semi slant 55L it’s $31 and one hell of a slant. Both are available on Amazon so if you hate them return them 🤣 For more mild/‘medium in stainless steel is the goodfellas Syntesi is my pick.
You indicate that you are looking for Gillette branded DE Razor blades made outside of Russia, but not made in China, IIUC. Does that mean that you are looking for blades made in India, or are you looking for blades from Thailand and Vietnam? I am not optimistic about DE blade mfg being moved from Russia to China. The Russian blades had a very high standard for QA.
@ivermec-tin666 lol great name! I don’t care where it’s made as long as it’s good! I’m testing some Willy’s from India and some filoso right now. I’ve tried every dorco blade. I didn’t like any of them. Also tried tiger platinum and tatra and didn’t love any of those. I also prefer blades thats are roughly $15/100. When blades are $30/100 I can’t help but say why??? No blades give me any more shaves so what’s the advantage I ask? Yet I’ll pay $1 + each for artist club blades 🤣🤣 they do last more shaves than DE though.
@@Stubblemeetssteelgot it...why not choose astra green then ..it's checks the boxes, made in India, super smooth n sharp for me personally works well on coarse beard doesn't leave spots behind..n less than 15 bucks on Amazon with shipping free 🎉
Carzone2021 I don’t like how the Astra perform for me. Not sure if the ones I tried are Russian or Indian then. I tried the blue and green a few times. So far for Indian blades I like the Willy’s
Great advice, great comparison!
Nice shave John. Have you tried the open comb version of Yaqi final cut?
Great video, I have the Razorock SLOC (zamak) and the Yaqi V1 Mellon head (zamak) and they are the same heads, more than likely made in the same factory.
I like the SLOC and the Yaqi V1 Mellon heads and have used them for years. I also have the Yaqi V2 mellon head 316 and it has a touch more blade feel and is a tame mid to mid range razor. The Mellon razor head was created by Mr Mellon in the 1930's - 40's(The Grande Shave King self lubricating razor) & it was very mild and Mr Mellon had a few different variants of that razor head and they where all very mild razors. The RR SLOC or Yaqi Mellon head are affordable for Greenhorns or fellows who enjoy a nice easy going shave IMO. I really enjoy the Yaqi V2 Mellon SSP head also and bought it right away when it was available from Yaqi, it has become almost in my regular weekly rotation of many razors (another great deal.)
@ronr8800 I did not find that to be the case for me. The SLOC has more blade feel and wants to bite me. The yaqi melon zamac does not do that or feel that way.
To me the yaqi melon SS and the SLOC feel very close and much harder to tell apart.
Yaqi sent me the melon Zamac free & I had 0 intentions of using it assuming it was identical to the sloc as it looked so similar.
My buddy insisted I try it thats it’s more mild then the sloc or melon SS & I tend found the same using them for me anyways. YMMV
Have you tried the King C Gillette blades from china, sharp as feather only 10 times smoother. I’m getting about a weeks worth of comfortable shaves out of them. Great video by the way.
@jackkeller737 I have not tried one but I was sent one as a sample. I’ll try it! Thanks.
Another alternative is the Yaqi The Final Cut Open comb.
It's a pity that the Yaqi The Final Cut Closed comb don't have the same head design of the open-comb neither the initial gap.
How is the open comb version of Yaqi final cut chrome?
@okiedokie_cool Sig Solo was enthusiast about it.
@@nonsolorasatura9093yeah, caught me eye. Keen to hear John's view on it. @stubblemeetssteel
No need to worry about Gillette or non-Gillette. So very many different double edge blades products! One can possibly buy several DIFFERENT individual samples none of which need be Gillettes, and find at least a few which work very well for the person.
@10floz30minutes I’ve tried countless. Most suck 😂 Willy’s, filoso so far have been standouts. Some Bic, some personnna, 7amsharp, some treet. I have some. I’m just picky and always looking as u said lots of options!
Hey buddy I've been looking for a channel that loves mild razors and ive finally found you. Im fairly new to the wet shaving world, as you can probably guess i made the switch from cartridge and jumped on to the henson hype. Im using the henson mild version which is not bad but I find it still leave's stubble behind after one pass as thats all i can manage one pass because of the sensitivity of my skin. Can you recommend recommend a razor for me that will cut the stubble a little closer for a more cleaner looking shave. Thanks
@samsungalaxy-be9oe
1 pass bbs is very hard to pull off unless u have very mild hair….or a aggressive razor which usually doesn’t work well for sensitive skin.
The skin does get more used to shaving but a mild razor is probably your best bet.
Aylesworth apex aluminum, Karve overlander, goodfellas styletto would be my top non adjustable pics for you.
You may be better off with an adjustable razor so u can adjust as needed to find the effeciency you are after by changing the base plate etc.
I would suggest a Rockwell 6c or superior cuts 3D razor. The superior cuts it’s very smooth and forgiving even on the highest gap 1.4 plate he sells! I love the 1.0 plate but I would suggest getting the .4/.6/.8 plates to start and if u want more try the next set. For me the 1.0 /1.2 are still very smooth but high efficiency.
@@Stubblemeetssteelthank you for replying, for the last hour or so I've been checking out your videos and man you have some great razors, it's so hard to choose from. I want to try them all what you use, You have a beautiful collection. The bbs I'm trying to get from one pass will not happen like you say and you are right, I'm just dreaming if I think that will happen, the Henson mild I'm currently using and I've tried feather blades in it by the way, Kai blades, astra platinums but no matter what blade I seem to use it's still leaving a lengthy stubble behind if that makes sense. I'm too scared at the minute to try across the growth and against the grain passes because I know if I do when my stubbles starts growing back a day or so later I will end up with bumps and ingrown hairs
The very typical strong recommendation is Mild Razor and SHARP Blade. Also, one should expect to make two passes using lather, and then a few smaller partial passes to adequately shave off stubborn remaining extents of whiskers. TWO passes should be ideal.
@samsungalaxy-be9oe I would suggest a face lather and try going with the grain twice and see how that does. If still stumble try with the grain and 2nd pass across. See how that does. Lastly try with and against the grain. You will find your magic combo.
I can not get bbs in 1 pass with any razor or blade combo. I have to go ATG on my neck to get bbs. With mild but efficient razors I can do that no problem. More aggressive razors old irritate me more.
I tried your shim idea on my only DE razor - a 15 y/o Ikon OC razor and I was pleasantly surprised by the improved performance on my medium dense, very coarse 3 day beard. One pass was enough smooth to stop - a record short shave for me. Thanks for the idea - new sub.
I'd like to purchase a closed comb razor which could provide a good enough one pass - I'm thinking about the Razorock Lupo 127, slants and given the success of the Alysworth Apex efficiency on your beard after the GC razor, I'm thinking about that too in SS form. Another option would be an adjustable but the price of for these razors is quite shocking especially in SS form. Any recommendation would help me to narrow the list. Thanks and keep the comparison videos going as they're very helpful. I suggest testing razors without blades at all just to see if the type of metal and level of polish makes a difference on ease of gliding and skin comfort.
@aovint63 glad the shim trick worked for the ikon. Sounds like you would like more medium aggressive razors with your beard type.
I need to try a shim in my aluminum lupo and see if it makes it smoother or not. Sometimes oddly opening the gap I find smoothes things out.
I haven’t used the high gap lupo so I can’t comment 1st hand. A friend has them and really likes them.
If what I’ve used in the medium aggressive razor category the muhle Rocca is my pic. Stainless steel, great feel & balance. The thick handle feels great. Nice audible feedback. I find it the smoothest of the medium razors & one of the best feeling handles. If you also want to try a cheap slant try the Parker semi slant 55L it’s $31 and one hell of a slant. Both are available on Amazon so if you hate them return them 🤣
For more mild/‘medium in stainless steel is the goodfellas Syntesi is my pick.
@@Stubblemeetssteel Thanks for the detailed reply. I'll consider the Rocca in my short list.
You indicate that you are looking for Gillette branded DE Razor blades made outside of Russia, but not made in China, IIUC. Does that mean that you are looking for blades made in India, or are you looking for blades from Thailand and Vietnam?
I am not optimistic about DE blade mfg being moved from Russia to China. The Russian blades had a very high standard for QA.
@ivermec-tin666 lol great name! I don’t care where it’s made as long as it’s good! I’m testing some Willy’s from India and some filoso right now. I’ve tried every dorco blade. I didn’t like any of them. Also tried tiger platinum and tatra and didn’t love any of those.
I also prefer blades thats are roughly $15/100. When blades are $30/100 I can’t help but say why??? No blades give me any more shaves so what’s the advantage I ask? Yet I’ll pay $1 + each for artist club blades 🤣🤣 they do last more shaves than DE though.
@@Stubblemeetssteelgot it...why not choose astra green then ..it's checks the boxes, made in India, super smooth n sharp for me personally works well on coarse beard doesn't leave spots behind..n less than 15 bucks on Amazon with shipping free 🎉
Carzone2021 I don’t like how the Astra perform for me. Not sure if the ones I tried are Russian or Indian then. I tried the blue and green a few times. So far for Indian blades I like the Willy’s