OK so I decided to do a shave with the Yuma tonight... First impressions, it looks rough. Especially now that it is tinted blue lol. It looks like something a Civil War field surgeon would prep for surgery with. It's not pretty... I loaded a Feather into it and tightened the handle down but noticed a big problem... When I tightened the handle the head will spin and create an uneven gap in the blade exposure. I attribute this to ill fitting top cap into the middle guard piece. The guides are not made well to fit and have slop. I was forced to hold the cap AND the blade straight while tightening the handle down. Once I away satisfied I had a straight and even setup I examined the razor further. There is indeed a mild and aggressive side to the razor. I then loosened the handle and flipped the cap around the other way to see if it was symmetrical, for example if it was cast to fit together only one way. But alas, it was still uneven the other way. So, satisfied that I had the blade loaded and everything straight, I proceeded to mix up some lather with the mystery soap/croap. It smells like it has coconut oil in it, I believe. It whipped up a nice slick lather very quickly. I set to shaving and was immediately SURPRISED. Delightfully surprised at the least. I was experiencing smooth, balanced passes that felt as though I had no blade loaded at all, let alone a Feather. The Yuma is very mild on the one side and slightly more aggressive than a Tech on the other. I much preferred the less mild side, the other was far to mild to do anything. 3 passes later I had a BBS. I know that is a term thrown around a lot, but seriously, it is one of the better shaves I've had. VERY smooth results. The throat is probably one of the top 5 best shaves ever. My throat is notorious for being difficult to shave. Definitely happy. So the moral to be learned here, is don't judge the Yuma by his unfortunate looks, but rather by the results achieved. The Yuma. Field surgeon recommended.
I'm glad you posted. After you said you were going to try the Yuma and would post your impressions, and then we didn't hear from you for 2 hours, I was beginning to wonder if you were lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood. Good to see you're okay. Lol
Lol nope just fine! Also, @Mr. Shaverman I opened that Master soap....... And was ACCOSTED by the scent. Think.... Urinal cake. Yeah. Or... Port a potty on a hot summer day. Uh huh. I immediately put it back in its baggie. No way I was gonna soldier through that one lol.
Uh... that's the only way I have ever loaded a Yuma. It never occurred to me that anyone would trust it enough to not hold both! Great review. Very good pics. Yet even more insight on this underdog. I am glad you liked the results and avoided that "pool of blood" scenario! The mystery soap scent is coconut + vanilla, just sort of dashed together and not measured at all. Who knew?
I am so used to my merkur and Gillette razors that I can just tighten down that I never realized the cap would spin like this. It's exaggerated for sure though on a Yuma.
I have not tried the Yuma, but seems like a good way to get a cheap "adjustable". Buy 5 for $2 each and you get 5 differentially shaving razors. Arrange them from mild to aggressive and number them 1-5. You've got at $10 "adjustable". I've quite enjoyed reading everyone's impressions of this razor.
It's awesome that we finally got an overwhelmingly positive experience! Mine wasn't bad in any way, it was good. But your review is beyond mere good. I also like that you put a bit more investigation into the cap. I just kind of went, 'that's weird!', and got on with things. So kudos, great review! Sorry about the Master. I am going to have to try it myself now, huh? I bought it mostly because I thought it was funny, plus it was in an actual store. If it said 'new formula! Now even worse!' on the package, I still would have bought it. That being said, I haven't used it, it thought about it.
I think the reaction in general was more positive than I expected, not a love affair, but Yuma didn't exactly let us down.
So, my first shave with the Yuma was this afternoon: Used a Lord Platinum blade, which is my go-to smooth/mild blade, my Stirling $6 boar (seemed appropriate to use with the Yuma) and the coconutty IdC that was included. Two days of stubble which is generally when I get my best shaves. It's definitely easy to see the difference between the mild side and the aggressive side. I thought about starting with the mild side, but then thought, "well, when I use an adjustable, I often start at a high setting for WTG, then close it down progressively for the next two passes." So I started with the aggressive side. Definitely feeling the blade. Going well, though! Then a few strokes in, bam, nicked myself by the corner of my mouth. Not a usual trouble spot, and while nicks in general are pretty rare for me, I never get them on the WTG pass. Okay, I better switch to the mild side. The mild side... seems too mild. Just not getting much done. So I switched back and forth, being Very Careful with the aggressive side and switching to mild for trouble spots. Ended up with... not a great shave. Pretty close, but a couple weepers in addition to the nick, and one little spot of razor burn under my chin. A few rough spots that normally I'd touch up with a little buffing, etc., but I was loathe to try it with the Yuma, so I let them be. Finished with alum and Grey Flannel aftershave splash (which I recently picked up cheap at TJ Maxx!) The star of the show, though, was that soap. Really cushiony, very slick, easy to lather. And smells like Malibu Rum. Great stuff! But I am not giving up on the Yuma! Going to use something else tomorrow and then give it another try Saturday or Sunday, probably with one of my beloved Rapira Swedish Super Steel blades, which are just about as smooth as the Lord Plats but a lot sharper. We will see how it goes.
When you tighten the cap and handle down really watch and make sure that the blade gap is even with the guard. Mine kept wanting to go askew which would really make shaving with it an unpleasant trial.
Yeah, a similar procedure to what you described--holding the edges of the blade together with the top cap while screwing on the handle--is required with my Merkur slant, and I had seen your warning above, so I took care to make sure it was on straight.
I just opened a wrapped puck of the Master brand soap. Let me start by saying that I thought you might be exaggerating. No offense intended, but when one gets used to a certain quality of item, things lower on the spectrum can seem worse than they really are. You sir, were most definitely not exaggerating! I have heard 'urinal cake' used to describe a lot of low end soap... but in this situation, it is 100% true. Master soap actually smells like a urinal cake. I cannot think of a better way to describe it. It is not an insult, it is not an exaggeration. It is a fact. I will try most anything once... but I can't bring myself to use this stuff for shaving. I will test it as soap, and may keep it around to use as a general cleaning product- since I am the proud owner of 7(!) pucks of urinal scented magic.
Second Yuma shave completed. Yet another great shave guys, I can't explain it. It just did the job like it should. Not much else to add that I didn't already state Wednesday, so I think in the name of science that my work is done here. I learned that this little guy would be worth it to have a few in bugout bags or emergency kits, for the price. They're not anything I'd want to use if I didn't have to though. It gave a great shave but not without trepidation and the journey isn't as fun by half as with say, a Fatboy. I'll be moving this onwards on Monday. Thanks for the opportunity!
