Closed Pass Around - Wolfman WR1-DC DE Razor - COMPLETE

The Wolfman has arrived.
Never before have I received a pass around razor so lovingly and meticulously packaged. I think @DevonStan really loved it.
First impressions are very good. A beautiful looking, well made razor. Personally I think the Feather is prettier, but not by a big margin. YMMV. Easily.

I jumped at the opportunity to test this razor without knowing what to expect. I have used open comb and closed comb razor of course, but what should I expect from a dual comb razor? What is the purpose? Do you use the open comb for the first pass only? Do you only use one side? Do you rotate the blade 180 degrees between shaves if you do? I will find out.
Most of my DE razors are closed comb, so I dug out my Merkur 11C and had a couple of shaves with it to refresh my memory and get a baseline.
I'll start with an informal get-to-know shave, maybe open comb first pass, closed comb afterwards. Next would be open comb on one half of the face, closed comb on the other. Then maybe some shave-offs between the Wolfman and a Merkur 11C/34C team. Comparisons with my beloved Schick injectors might follow. This is not a strict plan - it might change depending on my findings and any more questions I need to answer. Should be interesting.

Three days worth of stubble need be removed. I'll post first results later.
 
Pleased it's arrived safely. Thanks for kind thoughts re. packaging. Do as you would be done by (even though it doesn't always work out quite that way) :)

In my ignorance (which abounds aplenty) also asked how to use a dual comb razor in this thread. Don't think I got an answer. Therefore I just did what I thought best and which I think is mentioned above too somewhere...which was to do the first pass(with the grain) with the more serious edge, then did the remainingg passes with the other. Alhough I now suspect that it doesn't make a huge amount of difference either way and could easily use either side and get similar (if not identical) results.
 
Andreas your in for a treat! If you prefer more blade feel go open comb, if you prefer a smoother blade feel use the closed. As simple as that. I thought, as others, first pass open comb; to remove more hair, however, I think with Nico's more aggressive setup, the closed comb does this without hassle.

Using a Gillette silver blue the open comb side was a little to harsh for daily use (IMO), but fine with an Astra. The closed comb was my favoured side.
 
@Nishy is right above. Ordinarily, you would think, use the OC first then the SB - in fact that is what I do with another dual head (in this case an Ikon) that I have, but with this reasonably aggressive Wolfman setup, the SB is well able to handle a few days growth. Having said that, I generally would still use the OC first as I like the fact that more lather is left on the face. As always, YMMV and all that.

Best thing to do is experiment and see what works for you. I'm looking forward to reading your reports Andreas @riverrun.
 
Wolfman - Day 1 (long - summary at the end)

Three days of stubble will be attacked by the Wolfman, assisted by Cells croap and a new Voskhod blade.
The razor has a nice weight to it. The scales claim it is 100.7 grams of finest stainless steel. The finish is fantastic.
It's not the easiest razor to put a blade in. The two raised bits either side of the central screw at the bottom of the head plate are quite thin, so the blade easily slips off when trying to put the razor together. This surprised me slightly, but it doesn't bother me now that I know. If it did I'd stick with a TTO or a cartridge razor. Or my beloved Schick injectors.
For the first pass I will use the open comb side of the head. Now... which one is that? Hard to tell without my reading glasses... At least for me. On go the reading glasses.. razor checked... reading glasses off. This will not be practical during the shave, so I remember that someone somewhere said that you can distinguish the two sides of the head by touch. You sure can - mind your fingers though. In the end I find a different solution for me: If I hold the razor with my arm outstretched and point it at the window, it is far enough away with enough contrast to tell the two sides apart without glasses. Luckily I'm not overlooked. People might wonder why I intersperse my shave with the occasional Hitler salute. :eek:
I have established upfront that the head geometry should require something like the normal 30 degrees angle, one advantage it might have over the Feather AS-D2 for some people.
Let's shave. I immediately notice that this razor means business. Three days worth of stubble are removed without much ado. One tiny nick on the chin, but I'm unclear of the cause of it. So far, so impressive.
The second pass with the closed comb side doesn't feel much different from the open comb pass to me. I'll definitely do a shave off between the two sides soon. After three passes there is not much left to shave, but I'll do my full on four pass routine to have a proper comparison to other razors I've tried.
The alum block stings a bit (more than with the recently tested Feather or Neo-Gam), Cella Colonia Classica is the after shave of choice, although it is really a cologne. Cella is like an unpredictable woman: she slaps you in the face, then gives a you big snog and before you know it - she's gone. I love the scent though…
Back to the shave: I can tell that this was a great shave. The skin is very smooth all over, even in tricky places. Babies wish they had a bottom that smooth. I know immediately that a shave with this razor will last much longer than a shave with the Feather. I'm writing this about five hours after the shave and there is still no trace of stubble, even when feeling ATG under my chin. That's quite a result. The last time I had a shave that close was… well… three days ago with the Neo-Gam. The Neo-Gam shaves every bit as good as the Wolfman. I can't believe the lack of interest in that pass around. Well it's over now, so tough luck. Mind you, the Neo-Gam is made from plastic, not stainless steel and it has that scary look about it.
So, here are the final thoughts after the first shave: this razor is as good as its reputation. I can see why people love it. You can easily have this as your only razor and never look back. It gives a longer lasting shave than the Feather AS-D2, but - and I'm not sure yet why - I think I enjoyed the Feather more. The Wolfman doesn't have the fondle factor the Feather had for me. I have to think about this a bit more. It's confusing and I can't put my finger on it yet.
I was originally planning to compare the Wolfman to a combination of Merkur 11C and 34C. This now seems pointless as the Merkurs don't stand a chance. The next shave will probably be open comb on one half of the face and close comb on the other to explore the difference. I can already see a problem: the shave this razor gives is so close that I might not need a shave tomorrow. We'll see.

tl;dr:

Stunning.
 
riverrun said:
Wolfman - Day 1 (long - summary at the end)

Three days of stubble will be attacked by the Wolfman, assisted by Cells croap and a new Voskhod blade.
The razor has a nice weight to it. The scales claim it is 100.7 grams of finest stainless steel. The finish is fantastic.
It's not the easiest razor to put a blade in. The two raised bits either side of the central screw at the bottom of the head plate are quite thin, so the blade easily slips off when trying to put the razor together. This surprised me slightly, but it doesn't bother me now that I know. If it did I'd stick with a TTO or a cartridge razor. Or my beloved Schick injectors.
For the first pass I will use the open comb side of the head. Now... which one is that? Hard to tell without my reading glasses... At least for me. On go the reading glasses.. razor checked... reading glasses off. This will not be practical during the shave, so I remember that someone somewhere said that you can distinguish the two sides of the head by touch. You sure can - mind your fingers though. In the end I find a different solution for me: If I hold the razor with my arm outstretched and point it at the window, it is far enough away with enough contrast to tell the two sides apart without glasses. Luckily I'm not overlooked. People might wonder why I intersperse my shave with the occasional Hitler salute. :eek:
I have established upfront that the head geometry should require something like the normal 30 degrees angle, one advantage it might have over the Feather AS-D2 for some people.
Let's shave. I immediately notice that this razor means business. Three days worth of stubble are removed without much ado. One tiny nick on the chin, but I'm unclear of the cause of it. So far, so impressive.
The second pass with the closed comb side doesn't feel much different from the open comb pass to me. I'll definitely do a shave off between the two sides soon. After three passes there is not much left to shave, but I'll do my full on four pass routine to have a proper comparison to other razors I've tried.
The alum block stings a bit (more than with the recently tested Feather or Neo-Gam), Cella Colonia Classica is the after shave of choice, although it is really a cologne. Cella is like an unpredictable woman: she slaps you in the face, then gives a you big snog and before you know it - she's gone. I love the scent though…
Back to the shave: I can tell that this was a great shave. The skin is very smooth all over, even in tricky places. Babies wish they had a bottom that smooth. I know immediately that a shave with this razor will last much longer than a shave with the Feather. I'm writing this about five hours after the shave and there is still no trace of stubble, even when feeling ATG under my chin. That's quite a result. The last time I had a shave that close was… well… three days ago with the Neo-Gam. The Neo-Gam shaves every bit as good as the Wolfman. I can't believe the lack of interest in that pass around. Well it's over now, so tough luck. Mind you, the Neo-Gam is made from plastic, not stainless steel and it has that scary look about it.
So, here are the final thoughts after the first shave: this razor is as good as its reputation. I can see why people love it. You can easily have this as your only razor and never look back. It gives a longer lasting shave than the Feather AS-D2, but - and I'm not sure yet why - I think I enjoyed the Feather more. The Wolfman doesn't have the fondle factor the Feather had for me. I have to think about this a bit more. It's confusing and I can't put my finger on it yet.
I was originally planning to compare the Wolfman to a combination of Merkur 11C and 34C. This now seems pointless as the Merkurs don't stand a chance. The next shave will probably be open comb on one half of the face and close comb on the other to explore the difference. I can already see a problem: the shave this razor gives is so close that I might not need a shave tomorrow. We'll see.

tl;dr:

Stunning.
Click to expand...
Andreas this fondling thing? Is it similar to that of the magpie? Or something worse ;)
 
If you think you're sharing my bungalow in the Pacific you've got another thing coming!

OK, I accept I might consider allowing you the use of the servants quarters (a jolly nice little gaff at the bottom of the garden) ... and this only provided I get to share the Wolfman with you.

It was my goodself who spoke about the difficulty in identifying the two sides of the razor without specs.

And, as per the thoughts in one of my earlier diatribes, I now have to decide whether to think about parting with my Feather in the event you made me an offer I couldn't refuse. That WOULD be a tricky one. I used it today and all was OK and shall carry on using it to try to re-kindle the love I had before Homo Wolverine entered the scene..

You seem to mirror my thoughts in almost all respects (or should that be the other way round?) albeit whilst I love the performance of Cella I can't stand the smell of marzipan.

I think we're agreed the difference between the two respective sides isn't great...I made that very point earlier - which makes it awkward in thinking about what I might order if ever given the opportunity.

Keep on keeping on and savour every moment.
 
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