After years of trying different safety razors, the Yates Winning has become the benchmark I compare everything else against. It doesn't wow you with aggressive blade feel or flashy design tricks. Instead, it quietly delivers one exceptional shave after another. The defining characteristic is how incredibly smooth it feels. Blade feel is almost nonexistent, yet the razor is far more efficient than its mild personality suggests. The fixed shaving angle practically guides itself, making it almost impossible to use incorrectly. Once you find the angle, it feels like the razor is gliding across your face rather than scraping it. What impressed me most is how forgiving it is. Paired with a Gillette Silver Blue blade, I consistently get close, comfortable shaves with virtually no irritation. The head creates a slight "suction" sensation against the skin that initially feels unusual, but it quickly becomes one of the reasons the razor feels so controlled and planted. It inspires confidence. The machining and stainless steel construction are excellent, and the razor has enough weight to let gravity do the work without ever feeling cumbersome. It rinses easily, holds the blade securely, and simply disappears during the shave—which is probably the highest compliment I can give any razor. If you're looking for an aggressive razor that constantly reminds you there's a blade on your face, this isn't it. The Winning is about effortless comfort, consistency, and refinement. It's a razor that encourages good technique instead of punishing imperfect technique. I've used Merkur razors and other well-respected DEs, but the Yates Winning is the one I keep reaching for. It's one of those rare products that lives up to its name. For me, it's a forever razor.

I tried this razor previously with several aggressive blades (Feather, GEM, Iridium), but today, I backed off and I used a Treet Carbon Steel "Black Beauty" blade and it provided one of the smoothest, nick free, comfortable shaves I've ever had with a DE razor over the past 6 years. Nice weight and balance in the hand and the blade provided an exceptional close smooth, 2 pass shave, this will definitely go into my rotation for a daily driver and up to a 3 day growth of beard. Thank you REX for having the foresight to continue the Yates brand of razors. It is a SS winner, you can't beat for the price.

Awesome Stainless Steel razor, absolutely no blade feel. Shaves nice and smooth, I prefer a Personna Gem blade with this razor. I've had 6 shaves with this razor and it hasn't disappointed yet.

I first received my winning razor and immediately busted it out for a shave. I’ve been trying to get a Yates razor for quite a bit. I’ve been really wanting the merica but got the winning first because of availability. Anyways the shave the shave was terrible. I blamed it on a bad blade and user error. The next day I used it again with a astra blade (my favorite). I got a scrape on my face that is still obvious over a week later. I took the blade out and looked at the razor better. The razor had a few imperfections one being a burr on the side of the razor and then the alignment was off and there was two different gaps on each side of the razor. The two sides were almost a sixteenth of an inch different. I sent the razor back and they replaced it but the new one also had two different blade gaps on each side. This one wasn’t as bad and was straight this time but was still about a thirty second of an inch off. I contacted razor emporium and they said they would get with Jake to look into it. I was holding onto this review until I noticed they were selling replacement parts. I would have thought they would have fixed issues first. The razor does shave fine but each side is different. I’m not going to give a lower rating because it does shave fine.