I did an experiment today and I have a new theory that you will not get the best shave by using a str8. I agree that a str8 produces the best shave, but not when you're doing it yourself. If you gave someone else a srt8 shave, it would be the best because you can see what you're doing and can move the razor around better.

I shaved today with a superbly prepared str8 I had just received from Lee, so I eliminated my skill as a factor (it was much better than any str8 I have used except the Feather). After doing the best I could with the str8, I had a great, close shave. But it wasn't entirely clean. I could still feel slight stubble on my jawline, neck and chin. I really worked diligently buffing those areas, but I concluded it wasn't going to happen with the srt8, because the razor itself gets in the way of seeing and it's also too big. Also, I can't find a way of holding the razor that will let me shave forward on the portion of the neck under the jaw.

I decided to follow up with a Merkur slant because it is very aggressive as well as small and maneuverable. I was easily able to see and eliminate all the areas I couldn't get at with the str8, and I ended up with a really clean shave.

My conclusion is that I can get the cleanest shave with a DE, but it won't be the closest. The str8 shave is the closest. So, the best shave would be with a str8 followed by buffing with a small DE or maybe the small Shavette.