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.