Cheapest and Manliest "Safety" Razor?

When it comes to the very cheapest and manliest, what other razor is there than the YUMA? What are the odds that a razor that costs only $2.50 can have such a dangerous and exotic allure?

check the exposure and gap - there literally is no 'safety' razor that is as aggressive as this. If you use any pressure at all you will make some nice deli slices of face.

Is it cheap? There is literally nothing cheaper that you would want anywhere near your face. It costs $2.50 - is that cheap enough?
Can you get a good shave with it? Absolutely.

The YUMA is loud, really loud. The hollow pot metal handle acts like a megaphone. It is a world away from the muffled high-pitched scritches of the "system" cartridges.

It's not a perfect world and this is not a perfect razor - there are a couple of issues that the user needs to be aware of:

It is constructed of shitty 3rd world 'metal'. You will deform it or break the safety bars off if you drop it onto the tile floor. The good news is the grip is actually very good and not likely to slip. Don't drop it or throw it and it will be fine. The other metal related issue is pretty obvious - you will crack/strip/ruin the threads in the handle if you overtighten. Happily, this too is easily avoided.

A key problem that the novice will have with the YUMA is that you actually have to tweak the blade alignment and exposure AS you tighten. If you just throw a blade in and tighten you WILL make a bloody mess. This is no Gilette twist-to-open, where you can load a blade with your eyes shut and it doesn't matter. The two things you need to visually confirm are the alignment by viewing from above, and the exposure by viewing the head end-on towards a light source. If you tighten too much you may find as I did that while the blade is aligned, one side of the razor was very mild (steep blade angle) and the other very aggressive. I backed up on the handle maybe 1/8 turn in all and it made the exposure the same on both sides. The razor was still solidly tight. It has never loosened on me during a shave. So already there are a lot of issues that aren't present in $10 and up razors! It's no trickier than a Gillette old-type, fwiw.

Saved the biggest potential issue for last: actually shaving with this thing. If you are coming from some other kind of DE razor, you should be fine as long as you respect the tool. Use the lightest of touches and you will get a great shave even with a 5 cent blade with a couple shaves on it. I have tried a number of blades in it, all with the best results imaginable:

ASCO
ASTRA
DERBY
LASER
RAPIRA SUPERSTEEL
SHARK SUPER STAINLESS
SUPERMAX BLUE DIAMOND
ZORRIK

If you are coming from the world of cartridges/disposables you will have picked up a lot of very bad habits that the YUMA will not forgive. Your bloody and scabby shame will be such that you will be unable to leave the house for a week. You have learned to stretch the useful life of the overpriced carts by applying lots of pressure. Admit it. If you apply a lot of pressure with a YUMA, somebody is going to need to call 911. No pressure! Visualize the blade just skimming the surface of the skin. Do yourself another favor and just go with the grain the first few times, and finish with your system. DO NOT try to get it all off in one pass, or two. You will bleed. Remember to rinse and re-lather for each pass. Do not go over areas with no lather repeatedly - you will pay. The "safety" bars on the YUMA are only decorative - it is difficult to conceive of a purer expression of the blade - you really only are aware of the blade itself, not the razor/holder. And the sound! You will hear each hair snap in half in terror of the approaching blade. I am proud to say that I have never had even the slightest nick with the YUMA - I simply respect its power - its power to harm, but also its power to deliver as good of a shave as razors that cost 20-50x more. Be a man and go to bestshave.net and order one or more now!