Isn't
@pjgh use carts at the moment?
More than using ... actively enjoying!
Shaving is just scraping a sharp edge against the skin to cut through the protruding hairs. It doesn't get any more pure than straight edge, nor more complex than the latest technology cartridge. The joy of this hobby for some is the razors, others the blade; others the soap and others the brushes; some enjoy the aftershaves, the scents.
I am thoroughly enjoying my soaps and brushes, quite free from any additional confusion with razor and blade combo.
It is fun that this thread (originally) was from a chap dissatisfied with the results from a different shaving tool and decided to go back to what he was comfortable with. I was a member of this forum back then and we certainly were no more unfriendly to cartridges as we are today; we most certainly do encourage the attainment of really good technique, which in many respects comes from using less complicated or engineered tools.
It is true that there is a considerable amount of science and technology that goes into cartridges and millions in R&D. Does it produce a better shave? Well, does all that technology in a modern car make you a better driver? Flip that around, though and you can say that it makes for less complication, less can go wrong and the technology can fill in for lack of prowess.
When I joined this forum, I was a cartridge shaver and getting some horrible shaves, so much so I practically gave up on shaving. Knowing something must be considerably wrong, I started to look into it ... and found this forum. Here I am perhaps a decade on using the very cartridge today that drove me bloody-faced and irritable to this forum in the first place.
What's changed?
Simply, me. I learned better technique by stripping back the complexity and removing the technology. I became the proverbial better driver by stepping into a stripped-out car with no power steering, no ABS and no seatbelts. That said, if it's not broken then don't fix it, and I wonder if the chap who started this thread was looking for "better" and found he's stepped out of his 2010s BMW and into a 1970s Ford. He was happy to go back to cartridges and it was a bit odd to storm off as he did.
... which I think is the point you're making
@NatJag in that whatever we choose to shave with, there's a wealth of fun to be had in all the guff that surrounds it and the razor is just one part. Look also to members who take a bit of time away from shaving who can still be found posting regularly here.
Indeed! There's a LOT more to shaving than just the razor.