Wolfman WR3 GEM razor

I'd be interested in understanding the rationale for going with the GEM format. The most recent GEM razors seem to have been those by ATT and Rocnel, which are no longer produced. Anything else is vintage or 3D printed. Surely AC blades have wider acceptance at this point. I would have been excited about an AC razor.

Don't forget about the Blackland Sabre. I love that razor and have been using it all week. I agree it may not be the most popular blade format but I really like it. As much I as enjoy my AC razors I prefer the width and the feel the GEM blade.

I'm planning on picking up some vintage GEMs soon.

wyze0ne

Jeff you tried the WR3 prototype right? I'd love to know your thoughts on the new design.

I tried vintage Gem razors, a few different models. For one thing the blades are not as wide as the SE Feather style. They are stiff, and if the razor design holds them firmly you'll not get chatter. OTOH, even with the Ted Pella blades, arguably the sharpest/best you can get, they don't equal a top notch DE blade, or a Feather Super Pro SE in sharpness/smoothness. 

OTOH, James WR3 is a cool looking razor, and it probably will be as good as it gets in terms of a Gem style SE. Some guys may find a quality Gem blade, such as a Ted Pella, is more than adequate to give them a smooth and comfortable shave. I, like Max, am not one of those guys.

He should have made this Gem razor as a side project like Guerrilla.
The popularity of gem razors is low, even I like to use them. Still I believe this is a pretty good razor.
If he thinks designing new DE head quite hard, he may bring WR1 and WR2 adjustable.
Making any material and handle available for these adjustable razors would be very popular.

Also he should have an option to get the base plates only rather than heads, it is pain to purchase same top cap every time.

Don't forget about the Blackland Sabre. I love that razor and have been using it all week. I agree it may not be the most popular blade format but I really like it. As much I as enjoy my AC razors I prefer the width and the feel the GEM blade.

I'm planning on picking up some vintage GEMs soon.

wyze0ne

Jeff you tried the WR3 prototype right? I'd love to know your thoughts on the new design.

I think it is the smoothest and most efficient GEM style razor I've ever used. It doesn't have that scrapey feeling that most vintage ones have. I've tried almost all of the vintage iterations as well as the Blackland Sabre. If you enjoy GEM razors and would like a modern high end version of one, it's a no-brainer. The head itself is rather large and seemingly unwieldy, but I didn't have any issues shaving with it including under the nose. Blade loading was a bit tricky at first, but as I understand James has modified the production version to make that easier. Aside from that I think it looks really cool on the Darwin handle too.

Thanks Jeff. Good to see some positive thoughts on the WR3. I love modern GEM razors, Sabre and the ATT G1 in particular. I will be trying the 0.40 gap in the near future thanks to a passaround on another forum.

Good to hear James has made changes to the blade loading. That's the only drawback I've noticed in the few reviews I found.

Blade loading was a bit tricky at first, but as I understand James has modified the production version to make that easier.

James has modified the shape of the post on the production baseplate, that's the only change I've noticed. Interestingly the side notches in the blade aren't held in place by anything unlike the Sabre and other GEM razors. 

I'd be interested in understanding the rationale for going with the GEM format...

There's no use in trying to apply logic to the illogical. The people who are going to buy these already have a drawer full of artisan razors.

Would love to hear the reviews once they get in shavers hands.

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So do I, specially a comparaison with the Blackland Saber L1 & L2 !