Copper Haircut & Shave P076 DC Passaround – Simply Spectacular

I had the fortune to use the Cu P076 the week before Markus Marhos24. Forgive the lateness of my thoughts, I have been under the weather the last few weeks.

A little background on my recent shaving habits. I received my Wolfman WR2 1.15 SB back in mid-May, and I’ve been using it almost exclusively since then. I shave every other day. It took a couple of weeks for me to dial it in, but now I’m getting pretty smooth/efficient shaves.

I’ve tried both the 17-4 and Ti P076 prior to this; had decent results with the 17-4, not as much with the Ti. I had a little over a week with the Cu P076, so I got in several shaves. Fit, finish, and polish on the Cu is impeccable, as with all of the H&S razors that I have seen.

I won’t go into detail on each shave, as they were all similar. One thing I will note is that I did not care for the shorter handle on this razor. I have large hands, and always do better with longer handles. As far as the Ethos soap, a lot has already been said on this forum. Ethos is one of my favorite soaps, and I already own and use both GreenFresh and Succes on a regular basis. I used the Lavender Supreme for some of the shaves, and it has outstanding scent and performance.

As far as the shaves go, I only used the SB side (don’t typically get along at all with OC), I used several different blades (Nacet, Wizamet, and Voskhod), and got fairly similar results with all three. It’s been a while since I tried the 17-4, so I don’t remember it quite as much as the Ti, but my notes indicate that I got some decent shaves with it. With the copper version, I was able to get ok shaves, but in the end they were all a little bit harsh. The ATG passes were definitely not as smooth as I would like, and I ended up with a few weepers on all my shaves. I am on the list for the 316 pass around, so I will be interested to see how it compares to the other metals. It’s interesting to me how the same geometry can perform differently with different materials.

If I had a bit more time with one of these, I may be able to get better shaves, but I’m not sure. I think I don’t quite get along with the geometry of the P076. A theory that I have is that certain geometries of SB just don’t work with my skin. I believe that the pre-stretch that some razors provide (like the WR2) is what makes it smoother for me than other razors. That, and how well the blade is held rigid, but in this instance, the P076 seems to hold the blade very rigidly, so that doesn’t seem to be as big a factor. A lot of my whiskers are cow lick, going in all directions, so many areas are difficult, and the pre-stretch of the bar seems to make a big difference, depending on it’s geometry. This is all, of course, my experience for my skin, etc.

Many thanks to DanLaw for coordinating, and to H&S and Frank Dragonsbeard for providing the hardware and software for this pass around.

Nice review jbreakfield I share the same thoughts with it being a bit harsh sometimes. Didn't feel that way yesterday though, so hopefully I figured something out. Face stayed smooth for around 16 hours.

Cap riding adjusting down to perpendicularity with hairs almost always the correct approach to DE shaving from my experience: it instantly reveals the optimum angle.

As far as the shaves go, I only used the SB side (don’t typically get along at all with OC), I used several different blades (Nacet, Wizamet, and Voskhod), and got fairly similar results with all three. 

Very good review.  Interestingly, the three blades you tried are three blades I've also tried in my P074 and they are three that I can't stand.  Had terrible shaves with all three.  My blade of choice in the P076 is a Bic. You also mentioned the WR2 1.15, which is probably the razor I'e used the most for the last month, having just gotten one.  To me, it and P076 are night and day different shavers and both took some time to get fully dialed into.  Now that I am, I can get fabulous shaves with both, although the P0 is more efficient and the razor I use when I really want a close shave.  (Still debating about whether I like the WR2 better than my WR1 but that's a different issue entirely -- today, though I used the WR2 and it was stellar).

Nice review jbreakfield I share the same thoughts with it being a bit harsh sometimes. Didn't feel that way yesterday though, so hopefully I figured something out. Face stayed smooth for around 16 hours.

My experience has been similar with the 17-4 and 316 so I am curious to see how the rest of your shaves go. For me harsh isn't the right descriptor, but it is not smooth or enjoyable and its not because of rigidity or too much exposure. Can't quite put my finger on it.

Strongly suspect it an attack angle issue

Best
D

Nice review jbreakfield I share the same thoughts with it being a bit harsh sometimes. Didn't feel that way yesterday though, so hopefully I figured something out. Face stayed smooth for around 16 hours.

When my time comes with the 316 P076, I will make a concerted effort to change the angle to one a bit more shallow, and see what results that brings.

Strongly suspect it an attack angle issue

Best
D

That was the first thing I played with but I look forward to seeing if others have better luck.

Finished up my tenure with the PO76 razors this morning.

Yesterday I performed a 1 pass WTG shave using Southern Witchcrafts "Gothorum Tonstrina" set. The wizamet was on its second use. The shave was smooth similar to my first shave, but I had some slight alum sting and irritation along my jaw line when finished. I used the SB on my L side and OC on the R. There was no real difference that I could tell. The shave was a DFS and socially acceptable.

This morning I performed a 2 pass shave using Ethos Succès and a third use wizamet. I used the SB for both sides and both passes to hopefully limit irritation. Keeping the shallow angle the shave was very smooth, but I started to get some irritation after the first pass. Second pass only made it worse. No nicks or bleeding, just some razor burn on most of my face.

This is both interesting and troubling for me. I had no blade feel and still ended up with some irritation. My past experiences using these razors I had quite a bit of blade feel accompanying the razor burn, so I blamed it being too "blade forward". For the amount of irritation I get, the shave isn't super close. It's an acceptable shave, but not nearly as smooth as some other milder razors with two passes. The issues seem to accumulate over time too. The first shave using a PO76 razor is usually on a few days of growth, quite close and comfortable. The second shave I start to get some irritation, and the third shave is worse, continuing on. I've tried new blades every shave, different blades, different soaps, different shave angles, etc. I had a similar experience with the NO75 in the past as well. It must just be something to do with the geometry of the razor. Its a bummer because I love the look and feel of the H&S CO products. The machining and finishing is next to none. There seem to be plenty of happy users that get comfortable efficient shaves with these razors, but I can not figure it out for the life of me.

The soaps were fantastic as expected. I have not smelled the Lavender or Green fresh before so it was nice to try them. The lavender smells fantastic. Performance of these soaps is top tier, which is why I own a few sets.

Thank you to DanLaw for organizing the passaround, and to Dragonsbeard for donating the fantastic soaps.

Posted on behalf of a reviewer from another forum:

What a privilege it has been to use this razor and the set of soaps that came with it. Thanks Dan, H&S and Ethos for giving me an opportunity to try these wonderful products. I have not used any H&S razors before and this was my first. Was surprised how efficient this razor is. Had a total of 4 shaves with it using the Nacet, wilkinson sword and Astra blades. The Astras gave me the smoothest shave of all. I did feel it smooth at some areas and then not so smooth at other times during the first 3 shaves. Did not use the open comb too much but i did not find very much difference in the aggressiveness when trying to compare the two sides. I prefer using closed comb razors in general ...so shaved more with that side.

What these razors really do for me is teach me how to improve my technique every time.... I seem to be getting even better shaves now with my other razors ...
This is a beautiful razor with very good weight to it. The results were excellent on all 4 shaves.... although I must say that I do need to dial in the angles right to prevent those situations where I felt it wasn't that smooth.

The soaps are just fantastic. Slickness and lather just outstanding. Will be picking up Sucess and the Green fresh.... really performed way better than I imagined.


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