I have been playing around on this front for a while and here is what I like: On the DE shaver, I found a 1961 fatboy and purchased it for $2.00. I also have Merkur 39C. I have purchased a couple of different brands of double edge razors and my skin reacts a little different to each. The shaving cream also makes a difference in my opinion. In the end, you will have to experiment a little to see what works for you. For me, the best setup so far is the 1961 Gillette Fatboy, Trumpers shaving cream and Feather DE blades. BTW, you can set the blade in the fatboy from 1-9 (easy shaving to aggressive.) I currently use 5/8 and 6/8 straights and all I can tell you is I won't go back to the new cartridge shavers.....ever. Good Luck and Enjoy!!