Just food for thought within the confines of the wet shave hobby and the razor artisan makers both domestic & internationally. I have to admit that the line in terms of quality & craftsmanship has narrowed significantly on the perceived capabilities on what and how some of these overseas manufacturers have stepped up their shave manufacturing game to another level of product refinement especially within the Asian Continent and more specifically Mainland China. They’ve always produced more to the side of quantity over product quality for years and have been quite successful in flooding the consumer market around the globe with cheap/affordable shaving products, specifically razors that have been mostly miss more than hit. However, there has been a change in the last couple of years that has seen a shift into real quality production control from the Asian manufacturing field that has started to produce some extremely high quality razors at very competitive pricing. Yes, 90-95% of their offerings are more clones or duplicates of other existing razors out there and by far & large are replicas of some iconic razor tools in existence. Originality is not their forte and to be honest, there hasn’t been anything original minus a couple of artisan makers that have brought some real engineering & design implementations that have been of any positive influence or progress in razor development.
Of course everything I stated above is mostly opinion based on just my personal usage & experience on both sides of the manufacturing spectrum in using both razors produced here & abroad. The Yaqi Avanti has been one of those razors that has benefitted from the Chinese manufacturing conglomerate in stepping up quality, alloy & craftsmanship within the wet shave razor niche producing market. It’s nothing innovative as all they did was produce a replica of an iconic razor from Merkur that has been with us for the most part original in its entirety for the last 6-7 decades. All that was done was it was made entirely of a higher grade alloy (316 stainless steel) to near exacting tolerances in fitment and precision. Nothing extraordinary had to be accomplished or a new design from the ground up as I’m sure Merkur has the capability of producing such a razor to equal if not better standards that Yaqi did with their Avanti-Progress replica. They choose not to and the Chinese/Asian producer said why not and we as wet shavers receive a better quality product with arguably better performance at a very competitive price point. I know, the CCP controls practically all of the manufacturing divisions under their sole control and unfortunately, the government reaps the far majority of the benefits of production vs the independent manufacturers and small machine shops that receive a stipend for their efforts. And history has shown what the CCP can do to a people as it has been in front of our eyes to see for decades and history has shown that they mean business in controlling a people and a nation with a heavy hand. The politics of the situation is not the point I’m trying to relay here. It’s the mere standard that in our niche hobby, overseas manufacturers have seen what a well produced product can do and deliver from observing and yes copying many of the effective procedures that are used in producing quality razors both here in the States as in the European Union. Basically, they’ve caught up to the standards & procedures that the rest of the premium razor making industry have applied for quite a few years and see that consumers are willing to pay a premium for a well produced premium product. I’m not saying that razors will now be skyrocketing in price from the Asian continent but, their prices for these goods have slowly but, steadily have increased as their overall quality in alloy & production has progressed forward.
Many are divided in this field concerning the copying and duplicating of other products from designers & makers that infringes upon intellectual property of those said designs. And the arguments are strong from both sides of the fence without question. Unfortunately, all one can do from here is shake a fist at China in frustration because quite frankly there is nothing anyone can do including the World Trade Organization as China gives the rest of the world the proverbial single finger salute. Or, simply just not purchase any shaving products from them and that is no easy task as they have influence around the globe with how they have flooded the market with product and have a significant say in the world’s overall economy.
One can chose and it’s their right to purchase or not purchase goods from China. I respect those that stand on the grounds of making a concerted effort in not purchasing from them. They are willing to spend the extra in buying products made in the USA and conversely for those that solely buy from the European Union that reside in that part of the world. I also see that many can’t afford the premium costs that makers charge from those respective countries like the US & Europe for their domestically produced razors. They also look for quality and peruse value just as vehemently. It’s a conundrum and finding clarity where all could agree upon is almost a near futile endeavor.
So, the Yaqi Avanti while looked upon as a copycat or rip-off of another manufacturers design went ahead and produced a better overall product from top to bottom and those that have acquired one like myself have reaped the benefit of that process. Would it have been better if Merkur produced their iconic razor in this premium alloy? Arguably yes, but, until if and ever that Merkur decides to produce one, we will never know. In the meantime, the Yaqi Avanti is one heck of a razor that takes a back seat to no one in its overall execution. It’s better than the OG in every metric that one can bring up though price is subjective and one can probably buy 2-3 Merkur Progress razors for the price of just one Avanti. When on sale though at about a 20% discount, it’s even a much better value and I think at the regular price now it’s a decent deal.
Just my humble opinion & thoughts on this really good razor.
