shaved of escher with with 50 laps on very light slurry after 12k, very hard to say there was a big differance because shave of 12k was very good. i would say my first time and the shave seemed smoother and was still very nice shave. certanley sharp and certanly nice and smooth. so my progression was coti dilucot plus 12k naniwa then 50 laps on escher with lather as recomended. the result was very nice and smooth shave with out any paste. i was very impressed with 12k btw and i don't think there was much to improve on by using escher. my first time i tryed this progression i will be trying lots more on differant razors