Ok, first shave in with the D plate and I'll start off by echoing everyone else's thoughts that this is a beautiful, well made razor. I love the look and feeling in the hand. It has a very nice heft to it, but the balance seems to be biased a little towards the handle. I'm thinking maybe I should've opted for the 3" instead of the 3.5", but I don't like very short handles. Anyway, so I loaded up a fresh Polsilver and discovered that the tolerances are spot on. No fiddling with the blade at all and the handle screws on smooth as butter. Very nice! From the first stroke I didn't get the super smoothness everyone is talking about. Today though I blame that on my lather, not the razor. I had too much water in the brush from the get go so it was a little thin. I went back to load more soap, but it didn't fully recover. I was a little pressed for time so I just went with it. I did 2 passes WTG/XTG with some touch ups and the result was a very close, comfortable DFS. I can't imagine wanting more blade gap and it was forgiving and efficient enough for me so I think I made the right choice with the D plate. It has just enough blade feel which I like without ever feeling aggressive. Overall first impression is that I really like it and am looking forward to getting some more shaves in with better quality lather. I've always wanted a nice hefty brass razor and this fits the bill nicely without breaking the bank. Definitely a keeper!
- Jeff