Lupo vs Wolfman, head to head

[kingfisher]

The name of Razorock's homage razor is a sure clue that it is supposed to be based on the Wolfman, specifically the WR1. (The initial posting on Italian Barber announcing the plastic Lupo, years ago now, essentially said it had improved upon the Wolfman, you may recall.)

Anyway, there have been a ton of threads and posts about the Lupo, and in those threads I have seen many people asking for a direct comparison between the two razors. Now that I have one of each in my possession, I decided to bring you my direct comparison. I will do this over the course of four shaves. At the end of the four shaves, if there is a clear winner, I will declare the winner.

To make it as fair as possible without having to move blades around several times each shave, I loaded up two fresh Polsilver SIs, one in the Lupo and one in the Wolfman. I wish I had two identical handles, but I don't, so I picked two that are approximately the same weight and I will move them around from shave to shave.

So, shave one was done on Saturday. The lather was Wickham Club Cola. The brush was a beautiful Graydog. The razors are a stainless Lupo 58 and a basis polish Wolfman. 61. I used the Wolfman handle on the Lupo and a titanium UFO handle on the Wolfman.

Pass one, WTG. The left side was with the Lupo and the right side with the Wolfman. I started with the left side. The Lupo even in the 58 gap still has a fair bit of blade feel, although it doesn't feel menacing or scary in any way. Having said that, I got a small weeper on the cheek close to the corner of the lips on pass one. The Wolfman felt very similar. With the Wolfie I got a small weeper on the left anterior neck.

This was weird because with my usual razors I almost never get weepers, but after one pass of the showdown, like had one on each side.

Closeness after one pass was a dead heat. Both sides required a second pass, although I was SAS after one.

Second pass XTG went well with both razors, except that I got a second area of irritation on the right neck with the Wolfman. No bleeding, but it stung a bit right after the shave and I could see a tiny area that was irritated.

After two passes and a tiny bit of touch-up I was CCS to DFS on both sides, without any obvious difference. In the 30 minutes after the shave, though, there was definitely more irritation on the Wolfman side.

Shave one goes to the Lupo.

For shave two I will be switching sides, but keeping the handles the same.

Stay tuned to this thread for the results.

If any of you also have a stainless Lupo and a Wolfman WR1 that are about the same gap/efficiency, feel free to do your own side-by-side comparison shaves and add them to the thread. The more the merrier.

 

[Rhody]

great review
Looking forward to the subsequent test runs.

 

[Joezamboni]

Shows me being out of the loop. Was unaware it was a WR1 copycat. Although I notice their “gamechanger” model seems to be the one that gets the most attention.

Now I’m going to have to watch BST for a stainless Lupo.

 

[StewB]

Shows me being out of the loop. Was unaware it was a WR1 copycat. Although I notice their “gamechanger” model seems to be the one that gets the most attention.

Now I’m going to have to watch BST for a stainless Lupo.

It's named for it ("lupo" is Italian for "wolf").

If you don't mind a lightweight razor, you can get the aluminum Lupo for about $30 US. I believe it's pretty close to the .58 or .72 stainless steel version.

 

[JAHE]

Very interesting @kingfisher

At a later stage I could join in with a comparison of the WR1 .80 SB and the Lupo .72 SB. Unfortunately I don't have a WR1 .74 at hand, which would be an even better fit, gap wise... perhaps someone else has these heads in their den.

But now the stage is all yours...

 

[BigJ]

Great comparison!! Will follow with interest!

 

[kingfisher]

Second shave of the showdown in the books.
Given that I had a few small weepers on the last shave, I turned to my most protective soap for tonight's shave: Blue Devil Soap Company soap. I made a gorgeous, rich lather.

For tonight's shave, I changed nothing except which razor I used on which side of the face. So I started with the Wolfman on the left side of the face, then used the Lupo on the right.

As before, blade feel was fairly prominent with both razors, very slightly more so with the Wolfman. They both otherwise felt very similar on the first pass, although I did notice that in the places near the chin where the whiskers are the thickest, the Lupo sometimes left a little bit of lather behind, requiring a quick repeat over the area to clear it.

After the first pass, closeness was very similar. It was perhaps a tiny bit closer on the Wolfman side, although the difference, if it existed, was very subtle and maybe all my imagination.

During the XTG pass, if anything, it seemed like the Lupo had slightly more blade feel. So I think at least a portion of the blade feel is angle dependent.

After the second pass and a tiny bit of touch up, I had a shave that was bordering on DFS.

No weepers. In the subsequent 15 minutes, I had a tiny bit of irritation just under the jawline on the Lupo side, and a tiny bit just below the lower lip on the Wolfman side. All irritation was resolved by 30 minutes after the shave.

Second round is essentially a toss-up. Maybe slightly leaning toward the Wolfman, but there isn't much in it.

I should also mention that tonight I had a full 48 hours of growth whereas for shave number one I only 36 hours.

Two more shaves to go in the throwdown. I will switch the blades and the handles for the next shave.

 

[merovirginian]

Such a good review! Keep it up. As someone who has posted more generic comparisons between razors, posts like yours really help the entire community. Can't wait to read more. Perhaps different blades in future shaves ?

 

[Chelko]

Nice review! I'll stay tuned for the future shaves

 

[Bglayer]

Looking forward to these.

 

[kingfisher]

Such a good review! Keep it up. As someone who has posted more generic comparisons between razors, posts like yours really help the entire community. Can't wait to read more. Perhaps different blades in future shaves ?

I would have to use the same brand of blade in each razor, and I'm pretty sure I don't have two blades of any brand lther than the Polsilvers.

I figure I will use the same blades for all four shaves, although I will switch them from one razor to the other. This will make sure that a 'bum blade' doesn't bias the result, and also show whether there is a difference that emerges as a blade goes through more uses and dulls slightly.

 

[Rhody]

This thread might actually save me some

 

[Fedsbackhand]

May be of interest. Turn on CC.

WR1 .61 v Lupo

Actually, I prefer the .61 in the OC but did use my SB today with a titanium handle. It's a nice mild shave but prefer SE razors nowadays. Never tried the Lupo so can't comment or compare. As I had the original I didn't bother with it.

 

[Iridian]

Someone should donate you a .95 Lupo and Wolfman.

Kudos for doing this, thought this would not happen anytime soon.

 

[kingfisher]

May be of interest. Turn on CC.

WR1 .61 v Lupo

Actually, I prefer the .61 in the OC but did use my SB today with a titanium handle. It's a nice mild shave but prefer SE razors nowadays. Never tried the Lupo so can't comment or compare. As I had the original I didn't bother with it.

CC only offered in Russian on my device.

 

[Fedsbackhand]

Settings > CC > Auto translate > English

This works for me on desktop

 

[kingfisher]

Shave three of the throwdown is in the books.

To minimize confounders and the risk of an unfair comparison, for tonight's shave on 48 hours' growth I switched the blades and I switched the handles. Yes, the blades were both brand new and not only the same brand but next to each other in the same tuck, so they should be the same. But we all know that sometimes one gets a blade that isn't quite as good as the others, and I didn't want a factory blade irregularity to figure into the results of this throwdown. Also, although the handles were pretty close to each other in both length and weight, they were not the same, and we all also know that sometimes balance can affect the feel of a razor. Finally, I always shave the left side lf my face first, which means the lather is on the right side longer, which could soften the stubble more and affect the feel of the shave, not to mention that razor angle and pressure from side to side could be different.

So for tonight's shave I started with the Lupo on the left side, and used the Wolfie on the right. The Wolfie, this time, was paired with a Wolfman handle (see pic). (The final shave will feature the same razors with the same handles but the I will start with the Wolfman on the left side.)

For lather tonight I used Soapy Science in the Doc's Special Blend scent (named for me, but that's a story for another time). I lathered it up with a vintage Ever Ready in two-tone dark green and off-white, with a new synthetic knot.

I made a gorgeous, fragrant lather and started the shave. First pass went smoothly on both sides. Blade feel was fairly prominent, but tonight there was definitely more blade feel from the Wolfie.

After the first pass I rinsed and assessed the situation. No discernible difference between the two sides, so I lathered up again for the second pass. This pass, also, went very well with both razors. I did a tiny bit of jawline and corners of the mouth touch-up, then rinsed to see how I had done.

Both sides were smooth as silk. No weepers and no areas of redness. DFS in the two passes, with no need for further shaving. I applied my aftershave and enjoyed the result.

About three minutes after completing the shave I felt the tiniest bit of irritation just under the jawline on the right side (Wolfman side), but inspection revealed no redness and the mild irritation lasted no more than maybe three minutes.

This one was a dead heat. I couldn't detect a difference in first-pass reduction, and the shave was DFS on both sides when it was completed. The only difference during the shave was a bit more blade feel from the Wolfman. Whether that is a positive thing or a negative thing depends on what you like more than on anything else. It is neither a positive nor a negative for this comparison. It is just an observation.

Have a nice evening, gentlemen. I will be doing the final shave of this throwdown on Saturday evening. I will post the results either Saturday night or on Sunday.

P. S. I almost forgot to say that I absolutely love the Soapy Science soap. The scent is one of my favorites. There is no menthol, but since it contains both spearmint and wintergreen, it has a nice, subtle cooling effect. The lather is unctuous and slick, and the post-shave face feel is soft and gently hydrated. Great soap. I don't even know if they are still in business, and they don't get a lot of chatter on the forums, but they make a really fine quality soap.

 

[Captainjonny]

Has anyone compared the Stainless Lupo .58 or .72 to the Aluminum Lupo (I think it is .68)? I understand is a bit of apples and oranges, due to the weight difference. I am interested in both the shave experience and efficiency, from another wet shaver.

 

[StewB]

I used to have the aluminum and the .72 stainless steel variations. My recollection is that they shave very similarly. I now have the stainless steel Lupo .95 as I like a little more efficiency, and I gave away the aluminum as I tend to prefer heavier razors. If you don't mind lightweight I think the aluminum Lupo is a great value.

 

[Officers Match]

Big thanks to KF for this thread.

I am interested and not completely surprised to see the SS Lupo hold up well in this comparison.

My first RR purchase was a Lupo DC, which pretty quickly and decisively evicted a pair of Blackbirds (SB & OC) and a Timeless .95OC - I like it that much. I was among the first to purchase it upon initial release. As soon as the Lupo .95OC dropped, I bought one. The .95OC now gets the majority of my shaves, although for repeat days in the winter I sometimes pull the DC out. I actually would be a buyer for a Lupo DC with both sides at .95 (SB + OC).

These two deliver for me, and I really need nothing else - but I have never tried a slant and am tempted by the new Super Slant, but that is a different topic...