Well, the previous razor I purchased (a Weishi) was a little less than satisfactory. I couldn’t quite get the right angle to give me a decent shave. I looked up some reviews and people were reporting similar experiences. So I put it on the shelf and decided to look for another.
After some hemming and hawing and some more research I settled on a Parker 86R from Amazon.com.

After just over a week, I can say that I’m really satisfied with it’s performance. I still need to master my technique, but I’m getting a closer shave and it’s much easier to do that with the Weishi. Also, this razor came with 100 blades, a year’s worth. Pretty good deal.

From what I’ve gleaned so far, the safety razors give a closer shave and don’t irritate the skin as much as the cartridge types. Not to mention that replacement blades are 10 to 15 cents apiece. Now, the upfront cost of the razor will me high, I paid $20 for a razor with case and five blades, but some can be up to $100. I bought the kit below from Amazon and it should be arriving tomorrow evening. Do stay tuned for the presentation of the blade and results from my first shave. 