Thanks guys. I've taken on board what everyone's said. I opted for an astra superior stainless as it is a blade I know well and love.
Started on 3 after checking blade alignment and an extra quarter turn to keep blade super secure. This is nice. Smooth and familiar. The round edges of the doors on my face reminding me of my super speed (usually use merkur 38 or 39). Ok, one pass at 3 has been nice but still a fair bit of stubble. Never mind, mantic says stubble reduction, not stubble elimination, on each pass. But I will try a 5. Hmm, more rasping sound and this feels closer. Like it. Got halfway through this setting and decided, f!@& it, let's ignore the sage and well respected advice and see what this bad.boy can do with an ashtray blue on 9.
First thoughts, wow. I have moved the blade a millimetre and can feel every molecule of it against my face. Be careful here stig, sorry, notthestig, because this feels like holding a feather against my cheek without putting it in a razor first.
Managed my second pass with one tiny nick on thus setting and it is by a huge margin the closest, smoothest shave I have ever had or imagined. All the tricky areas that I accept will never be BBS, even with a feather (although it comes extremely close) cleaned up without incident. It feels more like a lethal weapon, and commands respect and utmost attention, but man alive, why would anybody ever use any other razor? Even if I had used it on 9 on the first pass I'm pretty sure it'd take only a couple of minor touch ups on setting 1 to get BBS.
I wonder how a bad blade would perform? I will be finding out how they and every other blade I have over the next few weeks perform on probably all the settings.
What a razor!