Happy to offer my thoughts.
Interesting question about the top caps. I'd guess the difference from one gap to the other is unrelated to the top cap and related only to the amount cut out of the baseplate. However that's a half educated WAG. Someone who knows will hopefully educate us.
Exactly what "aggressive" means to anybody but me is another guess. To me aggressive means rough, or prone to biting me, or damaging to my skin. I'm pretty sure you're saying the 1.65 doesn't seem that way to you; it's not all that aggressive and it's very smooth. Very cool to hear that. Also very amazing!
To me efficient means it shaves close without doing a ton of work. More efficient = less work. I like that.
I think a razor can be quite efficient and also comfortable, and smooth feeling during use, and not damaging. That, to me, defines an effective razor.
An effective razor, according to me, allows me to do enough work to get a close, long lasting shave (whether it's one pass or a bunch of buffing) without hurting my skin or creating discomfort during or after the shave. In theory at least, for me, fewer passes is good.
(In truth, it's easy for me to get a great shave on my cheeks. My neck is more difficult, but the real challenges are my soul patch, chin, and upper lip. Especially the SP.
It's not necessary of course for anyone to agree with me about anything including terms and definitions but I occasionally become confused particularly with the term "aggressive."
I don't see how a razor can be both smooth and aggressive. Not that you were saying the 1.65 is aggressive. To the contrary, as you said it's not all that aggressive. (Again, just to be clear.)
Your post is hugely helpful to me. Can I ask a few questions?
Could I ask what your angle is (like steep/guard riding or shallow/cap riding or what)? What is your beard like? I'd guess from your username your beard is very heavy? Your whiskers are tough or what? Skin easily irritated?
[I have somewhat dry skin, perhaps kinda average dry skin albeit perhaps a tad more subject to irritation than some. (Don't want to pretend I have snowflake skin.) I have old man tough white whiskers. My beard is average I think. My beard map is all over the place. A very very difficult soul patch.]
[I'm not in love with nor do I crave blade feel but I notice some blade feel is much less bothersome than other blade feel.]
The more I use it the more I think the 1.15 is a very effective razor, but I'd still like more efficiency if I can get it without hurting myself.
Thanks so much.
Happy shaves,
Jim
Shaving angle - I think I tend toward riding the cap more than the SB, but not to an extreme. It is more about finding the angle where I can hear the blade, for me. I am also pretty cognizant not to use any pressure and let the weight of the razor do the work.
I do have a fairly heavy beard, yes. I shave every day and am in my 40s. My skin is also fairly sensitive and I find that a full three pass shave (particularly ATG in many spots) is a recipe for ingrown hairs and irritation. My beard grows mostly down, but I definitely have a few challenging spots around my adam's apple, just below my chin, and soul patch/lower lip area like yourself.
My go to is an efficient (possibly even aggressive) razor with a sharp blade. I almost always use Feather blades.
I shaved this morning with my Wolfman for the third time with a fresh Feather, and even adding a touch of pressure on some late cleanup passes, I would be hard pressed to cut myself with it. A weeper is certainly possible, but that seems like about it. For me, this razor is on the cusp of not being efficient enough. It is quite a smooth shaver, though, and looks great.