Been there, done that as far as picking a favorite razor. What I got out of it is that your favorite will change in time and experience. Lots of silent, smooth shavers out there. Don't like the shave from any one of the quality makers or source of origins, hone it again with different hones or send it to a diffrent qualified person for honing. Gere is my collection. Each one is shave ready. I'm currently shaving through some of the plain Janes again after a year or more in storage. I am pleasantly surprised at how well they measure up to what were my favorites of the past year. Here is my current rotation
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...n-6-20-10.html I just need one more razor (LOL), that's what I always say and then I find one more that I need. Bottom line is enjoy what ya got. I enjoy the variety of styles and shaves but I can never seem to find the one razor to end the quest. It's too much fun finding the next best razor of the day.