DS Cosmetic AX: Yet another Wolfman knockoff/clone/copy?

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by ShaversRUs, Mar 13, 2023.

  1. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    The Dscosmetic AX Stainless steel safety razor head. Blade Gap: 1.15-1.55mm. They actually have 3 gap options -- all but the 1.55 is sold out as of this second.

    Call it what you want: knockoff/clone/copy. Please let's not get into semantics, lol.

    If you have an issue with Chinese products, and their copycat nature, then please move on to the next thread. I'm not on a mission to save the world. :) At least not until my blue bodysuit and red cape are back from the dry cleaners. "Look! Up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane..."

    In their infinite wisdom, most of the ad copy is cut and pasted from Razorock. Then they talk about the DS-Z0 Head, and also show pics of their other SS heads, for reasons known only to them and the lampost.

    So is it inspired by a Wolfman, Lupo, Gillette Tech, or some other razor? Your guess is as good as mine. Is it the same as one of the heads from Yaqi? I wouldn't be surprised. If money grew on trees, maybe it would be worth 45.92 clams to find out. But then you'd still have to buy a Yaqi (which one?), a Wolfman (which one?), a Tech (which one?), and a Lupo (which one?).

    If anyone knows anything more about this razor, speak now or forever hold your pizza.
     
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  2. Hembree

    Hembree Not as pretty smelling

    I don't know anything about the Dscosmetics version but I have the Yaqi version on the way in. I was sitting on the fence at the regular price but Yaqi had a sale plus Aliexpress had an additional coupon which brought the price down to about $31.00. I figured I could not go wrong at that price.

    Is it a copy....I don't know but did Wolfman get their inspiration from the Personna BBS-O and earlier Gillettes.
    Screenshot_20230315_144406_Chrome.jpg
    There is a lot of designs from the past that we see in today's razors.

    Just my thoughts. I would be interested in anyone chiming in that has the Dscosmetics version.
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2023
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  3. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    I've heard about the Personna BBS-O -- another razor that I probably will never own because of its rarity.

    I believe this is a fairly new release from DS Cosmetic, since I never noticed it before.

    I'm trying to keep it all straight in my head, but I can't, lol. Wolfman has the WR1 and WR2. I think the Razorock Lupo is based on WR1. I think one Yaqi is based on the WR1, the other on the WR2. I have the Yaqi Telstar, which I've had for a year and haven't even tried yet. I think is based on the Lupo (which means it is based on the Wolfman WR1, I think.) The Yaqi Sentinel I think is based on the WR2. Not really sure, but isn't the Razorock Game Changer based on the WR2? I have the DS Cosmetic 8 and 9 (S or D as the prefix, or something like that), which is based on the Game Changer, which may or may not mean it is therefore based on a Wolfman. Phewwwww!!!!!

    And..Yaqi also has more stainless steel heads that look like a Lupo, and a Sentinel, but they call them SBs, and they come with different blade gaps. Confused yet? I sure am.

    Now the original Wolfman (WR1) is supposed to be based on the tech-inspired Baili, but there are 2 versions from Baili -- one covers the blade tabs (upgraded head), and one doesn't. But which Tech inspired the Baili? U.S.? British? Pre-War? Post-War? Canadian? And oh yea, Razorock sells rebranded Bailis with the upgraded head.

    More accurately, the first Wolfman evolved from the Baili -- I've seen a pic where they show about 5 or 6 razors from the Baili up to a Wolfman. Strange that something so expensive as a Wolfman would start with a Baili for inspiration.

    The pre-upgraded Baili looks like a vintage Gillette Tech; the upgraded one doesn't. I have both. I like the upgraded one much better, which is the same as the Maggard V3M, which I also have. It is overall an excellent razor head. Frankly, I don't like the pre-upgraded one at all.

    A few week ago, I got a Feather AS-D2. This is definitely Gillette Tech inspired. I'm considering creating a dedicated thread to talk about it more. Bottom line -- it is hands down the best razor I have ever used. And I have used plenty, including many vintage Gillettes (U.S. made only.) From the first stroke, the Feather was so easy to use. For a mild razor, it took off my whiskers with ease. Despite what I had heard, it gave me plenty of audible feedback. It was new, but it came without a box or any Feather blades, so I used a Gillette Plat. I know many sing the praises of it, but it seems just as many don't like it. But I do, which is all that matters. I should stop right there, but I do get intrigued when I see something like a new release from DS Cosmetic.

    In any case, it seems like everyone is trying to build a better mousetrap. Some come up with their own unique design for one, while others come up with a design that closely matches the original, with tweaks to make it "better."
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2023
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  4. jaro

    jaro the dread and the fear

    DSCosmetics also has a new AC razor out too ..
     
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  5. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    I'm not into AC razors -- I already have razors that take GEM blades, and ones that take injector blades -- don't feel like having to get yet another blade format.
    :signs131:
     
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  6. jaro

    jaro the dread and the fear

    First I FTFY......But there are so many more razors out there to explore.... Give in to the temptations available to feed the RAD !!....;) :):rofl::happy093:
     
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  7. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    I bought a Yaqi Sentinel head and a Yaqi Zephyr head also on the trending sale and got a coupon for $12.50 for a total of $48.50 Canadian or $35.50 US (no brainer for a impulse sale buyer like myself) .
    I thought that was a good deal also. I like the Zephyr looks and thought it would be a mild enjoyable shave some mornings.
    Both of these Yaqi razor heads remind me of the Gillette tech head design in some ways with the 4 corner blade keepers. The Wolfman W2 is a nice looking razor with that polished look but it is out of my price range that I will pay for any razor($100 Canadian limit) and I don't really need another razor but I have a habit of buying sales and it sure looked nice and why not(lost my buying discipline once more :mog:). The thing that gets me sometimes is where these razors 6 years ago, it would of saved me a few dollars (They where not even thought of yet)!
     
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  8. Hembree

    Hembree Not as pretty smelling

    Let me know what you think of the Yaqi Zephyr. It looks like a neat head.

    I know the impulse sale thing. I also have a Yaqi Bohemian razor on the way in as well.....to good of a sale to turn down. The Bohemian is kind of like a bad train wreck....you just cannot help but look at it. It intrigued me and I had to pull the trigger. I got it for about 45% off.

    The Yaqi Bohemian was inspired by the French Bohim razor.
    Screenshot_20230311_180100_Google.jpg
    Yaqi Bohemian on the left.
    Bohin razor on the right.

    Take care.
     
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  9. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    Yea, I can't see myself paying Wolfman prices. I was on the list last year, and my number came up much earlier than expected, then I passed. For the prices they ask, there is practically no information for the heads on their website. You shouldn't have to rely on forums to get that info. I have heard that they work with you when your number comes up, though I'm not sure why the info is so secret.

    For the Sentinel, was it one of those live sales? The last time I checked one of their live sales, the Sentinel was not on the list, so I didn't bother to join. Plus, at least for me, though I've done it before with Yaqi, you have to stay up in the middle of the night, and you still may miss out on an item when they run out.

    For $35, I woud probably bite.

    I saw the Zephyr. Is that supposed to be another Wolfman clone? But it is zamac. I guess their model is to first release something in zamac, then if it is a hit, to release it in stainless steel. But the zamac if dirt cheap, so if it is a hit, that does not necessarily mean people will re-buy it in stainless steel.

    So...how do the Ali sellers do it? I'm betting that Wolfman won't take orders from China...just a guess. Do they have a confederate in Europe or the U.S. to buy them from Wolfman so they can attempt to clone them?
     
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  10. sidpost

    sidpost Active Member

    I wanted a Bohin razor but, finding one in good condition I was able to afford wasn't going to happen, hasn't happened, in many years.

    When Yaqi had their sale, I pulled the trigger and got a clone inbound for this out-of-production razor.
     
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  11. Hembree

    Hembree Not as pretty smelling

    I got my Sentinel head for 20% off plus Aliexpress was giving $4.00 for every $30.00 spent up to $12.00. I also had accumulated some "coins" so I was able to get the head for about $30.73 plus tax.

    Yaqi was having a 20% off on some of their items. It was not one of their live sales.
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2023
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  12. sidpost

    sidpost Active Member

    Dscosmetic is too much of a blatant copy to earn my money. At least Yaqi picks out of production razors for its more direct knock-offs.
     
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  13. Hembree

    Hembree Not as pretty smelling

    :happy088:

    I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it.

    I'm not too keen on the gunmetal finish....I might figure out how to strip it back to the stainless steel. I'm still on the fence and once I get it in hand I may fall in love with the gunmetal finish.
     
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  14. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    The Zephyr is not anything Wolfman has produced as far I know of, it looks similar to the Pearl K2 and they had their proto types out way before the Pearl K2 razor was made to the general public in the USA, Yaqi had sent out the Zephyr 8 months ago and a few of the you tubers received them and Kevy shaves did a video on it before they had a name attached to it(he just called it a chrome head). All manufactures of razors are keen on who is making razors around the world always and nothing has changed in the last 140 years of the safety razor creations. The Zephyr is a mild to tame mid range is what I have read on some of the reviews, it is a new product introduced just recently after they tooled up for major production I'm have noticed. Yaqi has some machine shop in China that has some good programmers and machine operators there because Yaqi was mainly into brush manufacturing and they where also in Zamak razor heads manufacturing also or had them farmed out who knows.
    Farming out production of razors is nothing new and King Gillette even Farmed out their Gillette Pocket series with all that ornamental handles and beautiful cases.
    I will be getting my Yaqi Sentinel and Zephyr heads next week sometime according to Canada post.
     
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  15. Hembree

    Hembree Not as pretty smelling

    :happy088:
     
  16. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    Isn't the Wolfman still in production? :)
     
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  17. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    One of the reasons I take most youtube reviews with a grain of salt. He does seem to be one of the more "fair" ones, but if I sent you free stuff, and you trashed it in your review, then guess what? I ain't sending you any more free stuff. lol
     
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  18. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    OK, I will keep an eye out for their next sale if I decide I "need" a Sentinel. I might send them a message, too. The sellers on Ali usually get back to me by the next business day, even if I've never bought from them before. Sometimes you can work out deals with them, too.
     
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  19. Hembree

    Hembree Not as pretty smelling

    Sounds great!
     
  20. ShaversRUs

    ShaversRUs Well-Known Member

    But not great for my wallet.
    :git:
    Did I mention I keep coming across razors in my drawer that I have had for at least a year that I haven't even tried yet?
     
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