Going back to Williams softened the hair, as expected. Meanwhile, the blade has turned the corner, too, no longer allowing hair to self-implode under tension generated seemingly by itself, as it flexes against the edge. The net result was also distinctly different from either: a sharp blade against the wiry beard, or a broken-in blade against a wiry beard (my usual milieu).
I would characterize the shave as emphasizing skin avoidance, since pitching too high resulted in sudden blade feel, or drag, while keeping to a low angle was not super efficient, but still noticeably easy progress. (Sounds like the world of a record blade longevity runner to me... as I recall.) But gosh, I didn't think the Merkur OC was even capable of causing the blade to drag! It's the absence of the "hair shield," where the blade would rest in the hair after initiating the cut, and wait for additional tension to be generated before completing the cut.
This hair still "pops," but only under properly aligned tension. It made for a very nice blade song on WTG, reminiscent of the BiC disposable train whistle, but higher pitched. I got a good, even shave, but not closer than usual for the Merkur, and I'm still a little closer on my neck than my cheeks.
Wow. I gotta say that today, as a writer, I see a little more clearly what I'm up against, and it's not encouraging. Could someone without a wiry beard even conceive of such things as I have? I don't think so. I feel like I've ridden the proverbial camel through a keyhole.
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