Wolfman WR2 Head Discussion

I know we've been focusing on high-gap WR2s, but I received my 1.05SB WR2 from James a couple of weeks ago from the 'invoice' drop and yesterday shaved with it and my WR1 .74 - I'm likely only going to keep one, but I really can't tell much of a difference in smoothness and efficiency - a bit surprisingly, I've come to appreciate the sleeker head of the WR1.... both great razors!

First-world problem

What brush handle is that? It is awesome!

It looks to be a DG B8 ‘Corona’.

I know we've been focusing on high-gap WR2s, but I received my 1.05SB WR2 from James a couple of weeks ago from the 'invoice' drop and yesterday shaved with it and my WR1 .74 - I'm likely only going to keep one, but I really can't tell much of a difference in smoothness and efficiency - a bit surprisingly, I've come to appreciate the sleeker head of the WR1.... both great razors!

First-world problem

What brush handle is that? It is awesome!

It looks to be a DG B8 ‘Corona’.

Thanks! I am not sure if I would have been able to figure that out. It "glows" so much in that pic vs. what is on DG's site. Love that glow!

There are basically 2 schools of gaps from what Ive seen...the ones who love the high gaps and the ones 
who love low gaps. So today I saw a video of this guy and he's using a low gap Wolfman:
Ti Wolfman WR2/WRH7 1.00 OC/0.90 SB

Normally I'd be skeptical of a gap like this (for my face), but he seems to have a very light and sparse beard growth, 
so this is a situation where I can totally see why a 1.15 and up may cause irritation.

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]This is my review after shaving 28[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] days straight with the WR2 1.05 SB with a Darwin handle. I shaved daily for 10 days, then i shaved with 3 days growth, then i shaved daily again using different razors on the right side (CG lvl2, GC.84, R41, 6S, WR1 .61SB) and the WR2 on the left side of the face and the last 8 days i shaved with a shim simulating the different blade gaps with the SB and with an OC.[/font][/font][/font]
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TLDR: YMMV but the WR2 is a great shaver in any gap, .95-1.15 for daily shaving depending on your face and beard type and 1.25 - 1.55 for every 3 days growth[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] or weekly shaving. If you are looking for smoothness and efficiency with little to none blade feel this is an amazing razor to get. If you like more blade feel in your shaves i would recommend other razors instead but if you want a Wolfman razor i should say the WR1 fit the criteria of blade feel, smoothness and efficiency. Also i din't find any difference between the OC plate and the SB plate the blade feel, smoothness and efficiency shaves felt pretty much the same in both heads.
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I have a very thick mediterranean and curly hair type with normal skin. 

https://imgur.com/a/nZ4WELn

When i shave daily i do 3 passes WTG, XTG & XTG, i get 70% BBS & 30% DFS. I can do ATG also daily but because of my beard type i tend to get ingrown hairs specially on my neck so i don't do ATG anymore. In my testing i got the same results with each shave[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] but when i say that the cut was slightly better is because the next day i can feel more stubble on one side than the other side of my face. 

Day 1 i used a brand new PolSilver blade and i played a little bit with the angle until i find the right angle for me (riding the guard almost touching the cap). It was a great shave zero irritation and no nicks. It was a deceiving razor in the sense that it makes you think that you are not getting a great cut especially in my XTG passes because of the smoothes of the razor and the little to none blade feel it made me think that i should go for a higher gap but after rinsing with each pass you can tell that the cut is right there. I got my regular 70%BBS & 30% DFS shave with no touch ups.[/font]

Day 2[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] i change the angle ridding the cap, it was a more smooth shave but not the best cut, that day i got an 60%BBS & 40%DFS.

Day 3 i changed the angle again i went ridding the guard with just a little bit of angle, it was the same cut as the first day but i did get some irritation in my upper lip and neck.

Days 4 to 10 went great with the ride angle, smooth shaves with no nicks or irritation, i was impressed with the smoothes, the little to none blade feel and the cut of the razor. Thats why maybe some folks try to go for higher gaps and i also think that in the first shave because you don't feel that you are getting a good cut out of the razor.

Day 11 to 13 i didn't shave.

On day 14 i shaved doing WTG, XTG & AGT to get a BBS shave and i put a new PolSilver blade. Great smooth shave, especially XTG & ATG, thats were i think is the best quality of this razor, as i said before the little to none blade feel its what really shines in this razor. The BBS shave last me for 14 hours but i have a heavy growth so its pretty normal that time no matter the razor i use, on the next day some spots were still bbs i should say like 10% of the face but  on the other parts i can feel some stubble.

Day 15 i didn't shave because when i go ATG if i shave the next day i tend to get irritation and some ingrown hairs and the net day most likely i get some nicks on the bumps were the ingrown hairs are and that could change my opinion of the shave.

Day 16 i decided to use the WR2 against some razors that were in my rotation prior to get the WR2, Charcoal Good LVL 2, GC .84, R41, 6S & WR1 .61sb, i decided to shave the left side with the WR2 and the right side with the other razors. I also put a brand new PolSilver blade on each razor, first day i used the Charcoal Goods lvl2 and after 11 days of using the WR2 i was really shocked of how much blade feel is on the CG razor, the cut was a little bit better on the left side of my face and also blade feel and smoothness was better on the left side were i used the WR2, so in that regard i got a more enjoyable shave with the WR2 than the CG having almost the same result.

Day 17 i used the Game Changer .84 on the right side and the WR2 on the left side, prior to using the WR2 the .84 was smoother than the CG but the CG had a better cut than the .84, in comparison with the WR2, the WR2 is slightly smoother, with less blade feel and better cut, again i find the WR2 side a more enjoyable shave than the .84 side.

Day 18 i use the R41 on the right side and the WR2 on the left side, the R41 is a razor that i can use to shave daily for 4 to 5 days straight but if try for another shave after those days i start to get irritation, also with the R41 i get an 80% BBS and 20% DFS with a two pass shave and i get a significantly higher blade feel than the CG and the cut obviously is better with the R41, the R41 side got a better cut but the WR2 side was a more comfortable 3 pass shave.

Day 19 it was time for 6S with the 2/4 baseplate using only the 4 plate, which to me it has the same cut as the GC.84 but smother and with less blade feel, the WR2 felt the same in terms of smoothness and blade feel but it had a better cut.[/font]

Day 20 i used the WR1 .61 SB, the WR1 has slightly more blade feel than the WR2, it feels pretty similar to the GC .84, the[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] cut was slightly better on the WR2 but both razor are very smooth, i say that the .61WR1=.95 WR2. I was about to give my impressions on the forum but then i saw on the forum that a shim increases the gap by .10 so i decided to give it a try to have an idea of how the higher gaps behave.

Day 21 i put brand new PolSilver blade and 5 shims to make it like a "1.55" gap, the blade feel and the smoothness felt the same as a CG lvl 2 and the cut was better than the R41, 90%BBS & 10% DFS after 2 passes and i got some feedback in most of my face with the alum and some irritation on my neck and upper lip.

Day 22 i removed 1 shim to make it a "1.45" gap, blade feel and smoothness was the same as the 1.55 and i had the same results as the "1.55" gap 90%BBS and 10% DFS and this  i got some feedback with the alum only on my neck, chin and lips, i only got some irritation on the upper lip and again i only did 2 passes.

Day 23 i removed another shim to get the "1.35" gap, i get more stubble the next day with the "1.45" shave than when i did the "1.55" so i got slightly better cut with the "1.55". The "1.35" shave felt pretty similar in terms of blade feel and smoothness as the GC.84 but the cut was slightly better that the R41, i got an 85% BBS & 15% DFS after 2 passes with no irritation and no feedback with the alum. This same day i received my WR2 1.25 OC just in time to test the "1.25" version against the real 1.25 version although it was a SB against an OC.

Day 24 i used the same blade on the "1.25" SB and on the 1.25 OC i removed the blade after finishing each side, on the right side of my face i used the "1.25" SB and on the left side the 1.25 OC. The blade feel and smoothness was the same in both razors if you give me any of the razors with my eyes closed most likely i couldn't tell the difference between the two razors, i didn't find any difference between the OC version and SB version in terms of efficiency, smoothness and blade feel. The blade feel and smoothness felt pretty similar again to the GC.84 but with the same cut as the R41, 80%BBS & 20 DFS after 2 passes. I felt that i could to do a third pass but i didn't want to overdo the shave.

Day 25 i remove another shim to get the "1.15" gap, there was no change in blade feel and smoothness between this gap and the 1.05 but the cut with the 1.15 was slightly better.

Day 26 i had to test the "1.55" OC vs "1.55" SB, i change the blade for a more milder blade to see if there was a difference in the cut, so i put a brand new Astra SP in both razors and i use the Darwin handle in both heads, one thing that i found was that the razor with 5 shims the blade got a little curvature and the razor with 3 shims kept the blade with no curvature so i need it to make a little adjustment on the razor with 5 shims. Right side of my face i used the SB and on the left side i used the OC, after making the adjustment to the angle i got a different blade feel and smoothness than the first time i used this gap, it felt pretty similar to the CG .84 and this time i didn't get any irritation or cuts but i did get some feedback with the alum in my neck and lips, 90%BBS 10%DFS after 2 passes, again i didn't felt any difference between the OC version and the SB version and i would be lying to you if i said that the OC has more efficiency or blade feel than the SB baseplate.[/font]


Day 27 "1.45" gap, right side Sb left side OC, the cut, blade feel and smoothness was the same as the "1.55" gap, there was still some blade curvature on the sb head so i did the same angle as the day before and by making this adjustment i[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] didn't get any irritation but i did get some feedback with the alum in my neck.

Day 28 "1.35" gap, right side SB left side OC, the BBS in some spots last longer with the "1.55" gap than with the "1.45", this time the SB with 3 shims didn't get any curvature so the angle was the same with both heads and i got the same results that i got the first time i tried this head, 85%BBS 15% DFS in 2 passes, with no irritation or cuts and i didn't got any feedback with the alum, i think the 1.35 is the highest gap i can go to get a great comfortable shave but i don't think i would use it to shave daily.

Overall the WR2 head is an amazing razor if you are looking for a razor that is efficient and smooth with little blade feel and the most important thing to me is that if you like the aesthetics of an open comb razor but you don't like the blade feel you should give it a try, it keeps the same smoothness and little to none blade feel in most of the gaps.
If you are used or you like razors with more blade feel i don't recommend this razor head, this razor in any blade gap might tricked you into thinking that you are getting a subpar cut because of the smoothness, as i said in the TLDR if you want a smooth razor with some blade feel and efficiency you should get the WR1 head instead. Hope this review helps some people to get to get the right gap on the WR2 head.[/font]

Props for a thorough write-up.

I feel I get a nice amount of blade feel with the WR2 in 1.45 SB...and I don't mind it at all.
It feels more than the WR1 0.86 SB
The 1.45 BBS lasts 8-12 hours and after 24 hours there is enough growth to go again.
Been using daily for over a week now with no problems.

Was thinking of getting a 1.25 after that but can't bring myself to go backwards.
So hoping for a 1.55 next...preferably in Ti.

Great review there, very much appreciated,
superb effort thanks 

Excellent and informative review. Very useful in helping me decide on the 115 instead of the 105. The 125 is tempting

+1 for an excellent review!
It has "i think", helped me decide to go with a 1.05 over a .95 razor.
If the 1.05 compares similarly to the 6S Plate 4, that it pretty much on the money for me.
Thanks again!

I’m the one in the video above.

I definitely prefer mild razors, I’ve actually owned a 0.75 WR2, a 0.85 WR2, I’ve used a 0.95 WR2, and now own my Ti dual comb 1.00-OC/0.90-SB WR2. My beard growth isn’t super dense, grows in quite slower than most, and is very patchy. More what I would call “pube-y” than anything. While I like my 1.00OC side for a quick shave, I can absolutely get a good enough shave from a single pass wtg. I like my 0.90 for a nicer smooth/mild multi pass shave. Gun to my head if I had to pick I would definitely choose the 0.90. It’s all the efficiency I need with all the WR2 smoothness.

I’m the one in the video above.

I definitely prefer mild razors, I’ve actually owned a 0.75 WR2, a 0.85 WR2, I’ve used a 0.95 WR2, and now own my Ti dual comb 1.00-OC/0.90-SB WR2. My beard growth isn’t super dense, grows in quite slower than most, and is very patchy. More what I would call “pube-y” than anything. While I like my 1.00OC side for a quick shave, I can absolutely get a good enough shave from a single pass wtg. I like my 0.90 for a nicer smooth/mild multi pass shave. Gun to my head if I had to pick I would definitely choose the 0.90. It’s all the efficiency I need with all the WR2 smoothness.

I'm confused with these talks of 0.75, 0.85, 0.90, 1.00 WR2 gaps. Does James do other, lower gaps if requested?