I received an old Bengall wedge yesterday from ebay - supposedly shave ready, so after stropping on linen and leather last night, I gave it a try. Wow - silent but deadly - to whiskers at least. Compared to my Dovo full hollow - which is very noisy, this was really weird. Took a little adjustment to get pressure and angle just right, and I ended up with the smoothest shave with the least amount of passes ever. Felt like I was handling a meat cleaver. One problem, though, got a real nice cut - about 1" - on my right cheek that bled pretty well when I started a 3rd pass (which wan't really necessary). I wasn't paying attention like I should have. Lesson learned. I think I'm liking this razor!