So for most of us, shaving with a straight razor yeilds a closer, more comfortable shave, hence one of the reasons we use them. But I had a thought while driving the other day, and I wanted some opinions/discussion on it. Do we get closer, more comfortable shaves because of the technique, i.e. multiple passes, with, then across the grain, or because a straight razor coupled with traditional lather and brush are superior pieces of hardware and perform better than a can of gel and multi-bladed razor and/or electric razor? Or both?

Thoughts?