Active Wolfman WR3 pass around

Darn!
I just went into the bathroom to have a Wolfman/Micromatic shave, switched on the light and the lightbulb went BANG!
Turns out it's the only light in the flat that takes a bayonet bulb and I don't have a spare.
The shave will now have to wait until after sunrise. It's one of those days. :rolleyes:
It didn't have to be a problem:

 
It didn't have to be a problem:

Nice marketing attempt, but would I hold it between my teeth when shaving? With 3 C-Cells?
Weight with batteries 408g? My dentist would be rubbing his greedy hands.
I opted for this completely hands-free solution:
 
Fourth shave

As promised - a shave off.

In the left corner:
Wolfman WR-3 SB, GEM PTFE blade - 4th use

In the right corner:
Micromatic Open Comb. GEM PTFE blade - 1st use

I tried - as far as possible - to make identical strokes on both halves of my face.
Three days of growth. Four pass standard shave. WTG, XTG, GTX, ATG.
GEM blades on their first outing can be sometimes not at their best, so the Wolfman
might have a slight advantage here. I did give the blade in the MMOC a quick palm-strop though.

The differences:
Weight: The Wolfman is much heavier, the MMOC much lighter. Maybe that's the reason the Wolfman feels good in my hands?
Agility: The Wolfman's head is much bigger, but as mentioned before that doesn't bother me. It works everywhere.
Sound: The Wolfman sounds better. It clamps the blade so what you hear is only the stubble being mowed down, no resonances.

After four passes I can't really tell the difference. I am surprised. Both razors were about equally (non-)aggressive.
Both halves of my face are clean-shaven. No stubble left anywhere. BBS all over.
The alum block declares a tie as well.
So does the ASL.
The proof of the shave is in the regrowth, but I can't judge that right now. I'll update that information tomorrow.

Finally: I like to remove the blade from the head, rinse it clean, give it a quick palm strop to dry it and put it back into the razor.
Now that's where the Micromatic wins by a country mile. Twist open, twist closed.
No need to dis- and reassemble the whole razor, hoping the plastic washer doesn't disappear down the drain.

Overall, the MMOC did better than I expected.
 
Shaves five to eight

All with the WR-3 SB. Lovely shaves. Nothing new to report.

Conclusions

I have had enough shaves now with the Wolfman WR-3 to come to a conclusion.

Here is what I like:

- The build quality. It is a well-built razor with an excellent finish. Both
the head and the handle are flawless. I can see why those razors are
expensive.
- The shaving experience. I can't put my finger on the reason, but shaves with
the Wolfman WR-3 are very enjoyable. The feel on your face, the weight, and
the sound it makes all contribute to a fantastic experience. Every shave
oozed quality and was incredibly smooth. That's what I'm going to miss most.
- Angle. The angle is easy to find. The head is designed correctly, so that
riding the cap will give you the perfect shave.
- Manoeuvrability. Even under the nose, I found that using the same technique I
learned with my first 1912 works fine. The head is however big. Having the
threaded post behind the blade is an odd choice. I haven't tried the
Blackland Sabre yet, but their solution seems a bit more clever.
- The shaving result. I received perfect shaves from the Wolfman every single
time. My MMOC gave the longer-lasting result in the shave-off, but the
difference was slight. You wouldn't notice without paying close attention.

What I don't like:

- The open comb prototype. Not for me. The smoothness of the close comb head
had completely disappeared.
- Changing blades. You have to completely disassemble and reassemble the
Wolfman every time you want to change or just rinse the blade. Careful! The
plastic washer might disappear down the sink. Compare this to a 1912 or
Micromatic and you'll spot the difference. Come to think of it: any of my
vintage SE razors beats the Wolfman when it comes to changing the blade.

I was initially blown away by the Wolfman WR-3. I even put myself on the
waiting list. However, there are two elephants in the shave den:

- The waiting list. How long do I have to wait? @Scorpio93 mentioned that the
wait is about one year? Go away. During that year I will have spent the funds
put away for the Wolfman on other stuff. That leads us to elephant #2:

- The price. This razor has the basic finish. This makes the head CAD350 and
handle another CAD150 for a total of CAD500. In other currencies the numbers
looks less frightening: USD274 + USD117 = USD391, EUR242 + EUR104 = EUR346,
GBP203 + GBP87 = GBP290. Still expensive. But the buck doesn't stop there.
Let's consider the UK. Postage is CAD20, total cost CAD520, that's GBP301.
The import duty on razors is 6.5% of the price of the goods, that's GBP19.
VAT will need to be paid as well. That's 20% of the total cost including
postage and duty. 20% of GBP320 is GBP64. Royal Mail will charge GBP8 to
collect duty and VAT, so the total cost is GBP392 (USD531, EUR470).
As nice as the Wolfman is - that's too much for a single razor.

Alternatives:

- Modern: Blackland Sabre? I can't comment on that yet. I have never tried
one, but one is on its way to me.
- Vintage: Despite my earlier comments - my Micromatic OC can achieve the same
results at a fraction of the price and it's a design classic and engineering
marvel. Other vintage razors should do just as well.
You can buy 20 Micromatics for the price of a Wolfman.

TL;DR:

The Wolfman WR-3 (SB) is a wonderful razor, but the long wait and the immense
costs of purchasing one are prohibitive.

Thanks, @Scorpio93 for the great opportunity to find out that I have neglected
modern SE razors. The Wolfmen are on their way to @BAW.
 
Well, chaps. It's time to pass the Wolfmen along to whoever is next in the queue.

I will miss the OC! For the life of me, I can't fathom why there is just a little nub of metal to mount the blade, and both heads are fiddly to deal with, but it has been a pleasure.

Thank you to @Scorpio93 for enabling this wonderful experience. I have a rekindled GEM bug, and have now purchased four old-style GEM razors, which are on their way to me. No doubt I shall be calling on your collective expertise for advice once I get started with them, because my experience is limited to the Sabre - and now the Wolfmen.

Who is the lucky fellow next in line?
 
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