here's my little note so far, as a disclaimer I have not had the opportunity to shave with an exotic yet. I purchased 3 straights off of ebay for a total of about 40bucks including shipping. One of em shaves ok, one of em sucks for me right now and the wester bros I bought shaves like a dream. It's not just weather its a sharp razor but weather the razor is right for your face. The super duper ultra hollow ground pumacker blackdiamond (which happens to pass all the tests and is the only one to do so, so far) is my worst shaver so far. Its too sharp and flexible for my skill level. The slightly heavier and signifigantly less sharp wester bros. gives me a more comfortable shave and is WAY more forgiving, It pulls a little more but is not uncomfortable.

May I suggest sticking with WTG passes for now. Get comfortable with the razor, learn it like an extension of your hand, then progress to the next level. Think of it like riding motorcycles, noone is expected to hop on and be dragging elbows on their first couple of rides. The bike may do it but unless the rider is prepared there will be blood.

its just the way I do life. set reasonable goals, achieve them, and move on to the next step.