Just a quick update: I did state in an earlier post that I intended to test all these blades and post my findings on the off chance that they may prove useful to others on a similar quest - testing the rest of the blades now seems a pointless/masochistic exercise following the arrival of my Above the Tie SE1 single edge razor - I have now shaved with it twice, but that is more than enough to convince me that I have found exactly what I am looking for - in both instances, I am not exaggerating when I say that it provided the best shave(s) of my life so far - utterly effortless, incredibly efficient, face-strokingly smooth, confidence inspiring and simply bloody brilliant - no hint of a nick - zero pulling ATG - wonderfully well balanced and utterly intuitive to use: I am 100% convinced that the AC blades are the key to this, and I don't really feel any desire to persist with DE ones - possibly the problems I've been having might be explained by the much thinner blades 'chattering' - I know this is all very much down to individual experience, but at this point I am seriously thinking of cleaning up my Slim Adjustable and sticking it on eBay along with a nice selection of blades for the new owner to try. I did consider posting a review of the SE1 in the appropriate section, but probably this is ground that has been well covered by people far more versed in the minutiae of wet shaving than I will ever be, and would probably not be the most edifying exercise - I may yet tinker a little with the soap/cream I am using (I seem to get through a tube of Proraso Red in fairly short order, I'd like to find a longer lasting hard soap that provides similar/better results) beyond this, I feel have achieved my goal - I don't think, had I not joined this forum (and Badger & Blade) that I would have even known of the existence of modern SE razors, so I am extremely grateful to all concerned
- F