I haven’t tried it with a heavier handle. I’ve attached heavier ones and handled it, but didn’t like the balance shifting so far from the head. I may actually try it with a lighter one to see how it behaves when the balance is more “head heavy”, but the reduction in weight would probably negate any advantage. I shave daily, but I do have a fast growing beard that is dense and coarse. Short strokes, always lifting the head.A few questions to help quench my curiosity:
Does it change for you if you use a heavier handle with it?
On how many days of growth is it?
Are your strokes longer than, say, an inch?
Do you lift the razor head off the skin between strokes in the same direction?
I wouldn’t say my normal lather is too thick for more standard razors, in fact I believe most would find it too wet. Your description of your lather seems similar to what I shoot for. I just have to go a little wetter with the Henson mild. Stirling soaps hold their slickness very well when going wet and thin. I also find Jack Black Beard Lube to work well (similar in concept to your oil and water idea).It makes me wonder whether the lather you used with it isn't too thick as such.
It should be easy to test - if you were to use a few drops of e.g. sunflower oil mixed with water instead of lather to get something very slick but "non-blocking", it should help show whether playing with the lather wouldn't sort it out.
I realise that I might be almost overhydrating my lathers, which might be why mild razors work just fine with me, even when their lather slots are tiny or thin.
Mine feels like a damp cloth on the skin, and the peaks are a little droopy even after vigorous whipping. It's still slick, which I can also check just by giving the lather a test by rubbing a little between my thumb and index finger. It just looks like adding any more water would break it down.
If it doesn't feel like a damp cloth when on the skin, I work in some more water.
If it starts to break down before it feels like that, then I generally either bin the soap, pass it on, or use loads of it to make sure it won't start breaking down and to use it up quickly to be rid of it that way.
I find that sort of lather give me good glide, works a treat with mild razors without clogging them or causing them to glide over hair without shaving it and it also provides just enough cushion to use with aggressive razors and shavettes.
To be clear I rather like the Henson, both in mild and aggressive. I just think it can be deceptively tricky to nail down. It doesn’t pose the same challenge with shaving angle as a standard de, but there can be hurdles with lather and pressure.