Wolfman WR4

[T r e y]

I recently got a WR4 0.50 and have half a dozen shaves, including a side-by-side comparison shave with my La Faulx Classique yesterday.

Mr. Shavington, I sincerely congratulate you on the purchase of a wonderful razor! You inspire me to new feats in the world of shaving. But I have a question for you... Please tell me, if you were to choose a gap today, knowing how the .50 works, would you buy the .50 again? Would it be possible to go with another gap?
Thank you!

 

[Mr. Shavington]

Mr. Shavington, I sincerely congratulate you on the purchase of a wonderful razor! You inspire me to new feats in the world of shaving. But I have a question for you... Please tell me, if you were to choose a gap today, knowing how the .50 works, would you buy the .50 again? Would it be possible to go with another gap?
Thank you!

It’s very difficult to say without also trying a WR4 0.60 gap. My guess is that I would prefer feel of the 0.50, since it feels wonderful to me and doesn’t lack feedback. The 0.50 already has more blade exposure than the La Faulx Classique and I don’t think I’d want to give up any of the gentle feel my 0.50 has. But the 0.60 gap might give a wider range of effective angles and make getting an efficient shave easier and more automatic. Maybe it’s a toss-up between those two gaps (for me) and it’s about how much easier the shave becomes versus how much of the smoothness you lose. As of now I am very happy with the 0.50 gap and it’s worth the small effort to master my technique with it. I can certainly tell the 0.50 is very efficient when I have the angle right, and on most of my face it’s not difficult or demanding of technique to do that.

For the La Faulx I am totally happy with the Classique plate and I have no doubts about it and feel no need to try the + plate.

 

[Fedsbackhand]

.60 is certainly not harsh but I'm sure @Mr. Shavington is right on the .50 gap. Which blades have you used for this supposedly negative exposure plate?

Both outstanding and exemplars for what the Japanese long blade format is capable of, but the WR4 does not beat my La Faulx Classique. If you prefer light, nimble razors then you may favour the WR4.

I've used both and agree. It's going to come down to personal preference with both razors. The head of the WR4 is incredibly light and I liked it with a heavier handle. As for the La Faulx I mostly used a lighter handle.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

.60 is certainly not harsh but I'm sure @Mr. Shavington is right on the .50 gap. Which blades have you used for this supposedly negative exposure plate?



I've used both and agree. It's going to come down to personal preference with both razors. The head of the WR4 is incredibly light and I liked it with a heavier handle. As for the La Faulx I mostly used a lighter handle.

View attachment 1807737

I’m using a Kai Titan Mild PINK. I was thinking of trying a Feather Pro Super for the extra exposure, and I still may, but I think I will first test it with a heavier handle. Shaving side by side with the La Faulx really highlighted for me how light the WR4 is, and it might be the weight more than the angled head that I need to allow for in my technique.

 

[Fedsbackhand]

Prolines and the Kai Pinks were my favourites. I like to rotate through all my handles with any new Wolf to get the balance just right.

 

[Shave Souffle]

.60 is certainly not harsh but I'm sure @Mr. Shavington is right on the .50 gap. Which blades have you used for this supposedly negative exposure plate?



I've used both and agree. It's going to come down to personal preference with both razors. The head of the WR4 is incredibly light and I liked it with a heavier handle. As for the La Faulx I mostly used a lighter handle.

View attachment 1807737

Blutt handle on that La Faulx looks great and like it was made for it.

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

.60 is certainly not harsh but I'm sure @Mr. Shavington is right on the .50 gap. Which blades have you used for this supposedly negative exposure plate?



I've used both and agree. It's going to come down to personal preference with both razors. The head of the WR4 is incredibly light and I liked it with a heavier handle. As for the La Faulx I mostly used a lighter handle.

View attachment 1807737

Ohhh Blutt handle on the Faulx? or am I wrong?

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

I recently got a WR4 0.50 and have half a dozen shaves, including a side-by-side comparison shave with my La Faulx Classique yesterday.

The main difference between the two is the weight. The WR4 is a lot lighter and it has a much thinner profile head. The WR4 0.50 has just slightly more blade feel than the La Faulx Classique, but both are very smooth feeling and give a very pleasant amount of feedback. The shaves on both sides of my face were equally gentle and efficient, but the added weight of the La Faulx head makes it slightly easier to get a perfect close shave, for me.

I have found the La Faulx Classique a very easy razor to get fantastic shaves with, right out of the box. The WR4 for me took a few shaves to adapt to the angled head - especially in a few of my more difficult areas under my jawline and in the hollows of my throat. But it was very easy and efficient on other parts of my face so there’s no lack of efficiency - I’m sure it was the head angle that was throwing me off slightly until I got used to it.

Overall, both of these razors are exceptionally good and they have a wonderful feel for me. I’d rate the La Faulx slightly above the WR4 for the ease of getting a perfect result, but the WR4 does have a lovely feel and I think that’s a lot to do with the wonderful Wolfman grooved safety bar, which I love on all my Wolfmans. I might try the WR4 with a heavier handle to see what difference it makes (I’m using the Darwin now, which looks great and feels perfectly balanced, but it makes for a light razor even in steel).

That’s my take at the moment. Both outstanding and exemplars for what the Japanese long blade format is capable of, but the WR4 does not beat my La Faulx Classique. If you prefer light, nimble razors then you may favour the WR4.

View attachment 1807553

Review as always at the Top Sir,excellent comparison between the standard straightener and wr4 0.50
Personally I prefer WR4 with high gaps, it manages to give me the efficiency I'm looking for... the Le Faulx ++ straightener didn't impress me, it's still a razor that I recommend having... very smooth

 

[Mr Konrad Dundee]

Agree with @Mr. Shavington WR4 feels lighter nimble. For this ordered 2nd La Faux in Titanium and it is still cheaper as WR4 in SS.. (385 vs 440€)

Obviously I am joking

 

[Fedsbackhand]

Ohhh Blutt handle on the Faulx? or am I wrong?

Yes, the Blutt handle is a perfect match

 

[lu20vt]

Today with a new Proline the shave has been more comfortable

 

[Sascoman]

.80

 

[Leverspro]

Still using the same blade since before Christmas, perhaps once or twice a week. A pure pleasure to use. Easy, comfortable and very efficient.

 

[Shave Souffle]

WR4 1.25 OC brushed SS w/ Darwin handle.
Grooming Dept. Pomp (Rose) soap
Shavemac D01 3 band - Peacock Blue



First use, didn't know what to expect. It's only my third time using an AC razor. First was Razorock Hawk OC, then the Atelier Durdan La Faulx OC, and now this.

Took it slow and easy and it was noticeably not as smooth as the Hawk but I expected that. Very efficient and I probably had the wrong angle going WTG on my neck and got a minor nick. I was using a new Kai mild blade. For some reason my other two shaves used 2 new blades and they somehow disappeared. I hope I don't find them with my bare feet someday . I just like the extra wide format of AC as it's like a wide trimming mower doing more work in less time. That's right up my alley and my gosh with most razors. All in all DFS with minimal effort. Getting the 1.25 I have no regrets and I'm sure I'll love it eventually.

 

[Cino]

WR4 1.25 OC brushed SS w/ Darwin handle.
Grooming Dept. Pomp (Rose) soap
Shavemac D01 3 band - Peacock Blue

View attachment 1835882

First use, didn't know what to expect. It's only my third time using an AC razor. First was Razorock Hawk OC, then the Atelier Durdan La Faulx OC, and now this.

Took it slow and easy and it was noticeably not as smooth as the Hawk but I expected that. Very efficient and I probably had the wrong angle going WTG on my neck and got a minor nick. I was using a new Kai mild blade. For some reason my other two shaves used 2 new blades and they somehow disappeared. I hope I don't find them with my bare feet someday . I just like the extra wide format of AC as it's like a wide trimming mower doing more work in less time. That's right up my alley and my gosh with most razors. All in all DFS with minimal effort. Getting the 1.25 I have no regrets and I'm sure I'll love it eventually.

Brave man. What made you start out with such a high gap? When my name comes up, I'll be thinking closer to half that.

 

[Shave Souffle]

Brave man. What made you start out with such a high gap? When my name comes up, I'll be thinking closer to half that.

Based on past experience with the other Wolfman's everyone was talking about I bought a .95 WR2 and it was way too mild. Same thing with the WR1. The WR1 .86 was considered aggressive and I bought a used one and it was pretty tame to me. Then I started ordering my own and went to test the limits of aggressive.

Like you said yours will be basically half what I ordered. That would most likely be too tame for me. Glad it works for most people but I'm a stickler for ultra efficiency.