My final shave with the Yates from a few days ago:
Plate: Hybrid plate
Blade: Permasharp (3)
Brush: Elite hybrid w/ Viking Odin’s Beard knot
Soap: Ethos Succes
Post: GentlemanJon Alum block
Post: Ethos Replenish
Post: Ethos Succes Skin Food Splash
I’ve tried a few open combs before, and didn’t like the feel of any of them. I can no longer say that after I did my first pass with the OC side of the Yates brass hybrid plate. Surprisingly smooth for an OC, with just a bit of blade feel. I’m not sure I’d like to use this one all the time, but it is definitely smoother than any OC that I have tried. I think with some continued use and practice with this plate, I could make things even smoother with the OC side. For the last 2 passes, I switched to the SB side, and finished up a very nice smooth shave. Similar results to the M plate.
Final thoughts:
The Yates is on the top of my list of possible purchases this year. I’m trying to keep my den small, so I will most likely be letting go of a couple of things that aren't seeing much use, and the Yates will be on the short list for purchase after that. I have a few other razors I intend to try out, but this one will be very hard to beat.
Thanks once again to
andrewjs18 and
YatesPrecision for the opportunity to use this razor.