Finally, FINALLY an adjustable razor that adjusts mild enough for men with sensitive or easily-nipped skin, who shave every day. Due to its unique adjustment range, this razor can accommodate blades from the sharpest right out of the package to those with many shaves and are at the end of their useful life. This is an adjustable razor with a shaving character that has long been called for. It is not without its quirks, however.
Likes:
+ The adjustment range is broad enough to get a very close shave, but also gets mild enough for those occasions when aggressive is not called for.
+ The blade mounts uniformly in the razor with even reveal and exposure
+ The blade exposure is negative -- meaning that the blade edge sits slightly below the shave plane formed by the safety bars and top cap, safely within the cove of those bars and top cap; it's a true safety razor
+ The razor can provide a close shave by making the razor adjustment setting more aggressive, or by adjusting to a less-aggressive setting and using more aggressive techniques such as razor buffing or J-hooking
The razor has its quirks:
- To open the butterfly doors wide enough to mount a blade without risk to its edges, the razor must be set to maximum aggression
- To close the butterfly doors once a blade has been inserted, the razor's aggression setting must be dialed down from the maximum setting; if this isn't done, one of the butterfly doors gets hung up on a non-edge portion of the blade, and the doors won't close completely!
- It doesn't have lather slots (a.k.a. gutter slots), but this does not affect the shave adversely. (Other much more expensive razors also lack this feature: notably the Merkur brand Progress and Futur models.) The lather and stubble removed from the face simply accumulates on the underside of the razor head and is easily washed away as is normally done. The razor does NOT clog as some might be tempted to claim.
I can confirm my observations because I returned the first Weishi adjustable thinking that the above-mentioned blade-loading quirks were a one-time quality-control failure. However, the second razor was EXACTLY the same. So I give this product four, not five, stars for its quirks. After all, the vintage Gillette adjustables were similar in design (although, unfortunately, more aggressive in overall shaving character) but did not have this razor's blade-insertion peculiarities.
That said, I accept the quirks because I think the quality of the shave-head design and the range of adjustment are unique among affordable adjustable double-edge (DE) razors.
If you can live with its quirks (I can and will), I highly recommend this instrument. I have owned MANY DE razors, and have gone exclusively to adjustables for their flexibility in shaving character. I currently own a Parker Variant, a Ming Shi 2000S (designed after the Merkur Futur), a Gillette Slim, and now this Weishi. This new Weishi has replaced my Variant as my preferred, go-to daily shaver.
'Nuff said. Happy shaving!
Thanks for the review. It helped me select the Weishi as my latest razor as I rediscover safety razors. I am impressed with the quality and find the long handle suits me better than shorter ones. Plus it has a nice weight. The Weishi may replace my Rockwell 6C as my favourite.
ReplyDeleteHi Doug, I read about your excitement with the weishi adjustable and since I have sensitive skin too, decided to give it a try. What I received did not correspond to what I expected, though. This seems to be a new version of the weishi (got it from aliexpress), it can be identified by some differences: the safety bar is solid as opposed to scalloped, no lather slots on the head, numbers are on the handle and indicator "triangle" on the head. I have tried it a few times and find it a bit unpleasant, too much blade feel, even on setting 1! Perhaps I need to try it more, but was expecting something than on 1 would hardly cut any whiskers. I was going to kindly ask you to post a picture of the side of the head of your version of the razor, like the ones where you talk about blade gaps and angles, as I would like to compare mine to that one. I can provide pictures of mine if you wish to make a comparison, so that you update your post...
ReplyDeleteIt's possible you got a copy of the real Weishi, a cheaper knock off. I would suggest shopping for this one on Amazon.com. I'd also be interested to know what you paid for this likely-bogus version.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the real one doesn't have lather slots either, so don't let that throw you.
Yep, I just looked up the "Weishi" adjustable on aliexpress.com. It clearly isn't the same razor. Further investigation reveals that it's not made by Weishi; it's made by Yintal and "designed" by weishi. If you click on the link in my article, you'll be taken to the actual real Weishi razor on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply. I got it from Yintal store in aliexpress, it also appears in the listing of "FRANCIS" store, same but without the rebranding. I do believe it is made by Weishi (I think Yintal only rebrands, does not make razors). The quality of the razor is actually quite good in my opinion and it looks identical to the scalloped version (except is solid bar). Some previous reviews in the store show a picture of the scalloped one, but the new ones show the solid bar, that's why I believe is a new version, this and that the Qshave Parthenon (the sister of the Weishi) has also undergone the solid bar change. Anyways...On the bright side, this version does not have the 1st and 2nd quirk you describe, the blade can be inserted/removed from level 5 on, and opened/closed fully on any setting without problems.
ReplyDeleteI paid $21 during the aliexpress anniversary sale (plus a couple of coupons. It was $25 without). It's now gone up to $30 or $26, depending on the store.
I would get it from Amazon if I were able to do so, but I am not living within the reach of that store.
I am back to say that as of today, if one searches amazon.com for "weishi nostalgic adjustable" what comes up is the safety razor I bought on aliexpress.com some time ago, so the weishi adjustable as pictured above seems to have been replaced by the new model, which is not very comfortable, for me at least. I don't use it, except now I added some zinc tape to shim the safety bars and it seems to work...although it will probably continue to accumulate dust in some cabinet.
ReplyDelete