Thanks - its not a matter of whether I can afford to spend $150 for a fancier TI, the question is whether I can spend 1/2 that much and get a TI that shaves just as well.

I know the lower end TI's aren't as pretty, but I'm looking for shave quality. While I like a nice-looking razor as much as the next guy, the reality is that appearances don't have any impact whatsoever on the quality of the shave.

To rephrase your car analogy, the question is whether a base model Mercedes drives as nice as the same model that's been tarted up with an appearance package.

I'm particularly interested in the le Gnome razors as I like 1/2 hollow grinds.