After using my first straight razor for a few weeks and perusing this forum I thought I would try a DE. After some searching I bought a Maggard MR1. Cheap with good reviews. Now I can only say WTF!!! Why has no one told me about DE's before! I blame all men for not spreading the word.

My first shave was very timid as I had no clue what to expect but in the end I was shaving like I'd been using one my whole life. End result was my best shave ever with 0 nicks. I gotta say this has definitely sealed the fate of my cartridge razor for good. Now it wasn't as close as I have gotten with my straight but then I havent been able to do my whole face with the straight yet so it wins the title of best shave ever by default over my Dovo. As soon as my schedule gets better I hope to meet up with Badgister and finally figure out how to do under my nose and around my chin, but until then I'll continue to finish up with the MR1. In fact when I'm in a hurry I just use the DE. I can shave faster and better than I ever did with a cartridge razor.
I have nothing to compare the MR1 to and will pester my wife into getting me something for Xmas to compare it to. Seems Merkur is highly regarded but I have lots of time to research that before then. Then I can compare the two, hopefully by then I'll be fully competent with the straight, or at least able to do my whole face