The OLD is a great razor. The best part is that you are banging out top notch shaves with a beautiful razor. You cannot call out open blade shaves until you have one though. They are a step above in comfort and for me last longer. It is Williams Wednesday. I am having a late shave... you made up my mind for me. Parker here I come.
Not really "calling out" open blades. Just saying that the end result can be had without risking your carotids.
With perfect technique (prep, stretching skin, great lather, great razor angle, etc.) I can get an equal shave with a DE and a SR. I don't SR shave as much anymore because of the lack of time I have for it and the propensity for the blade to blacken or rust occasionally in small spots. I enjoy both, but DE is better for me overall.
I believe part of it could have been the angle but I also was conditioned to be more aggressive in my attack with a DE and more prone to repeated strokes over the same area. With SRs, one tends to be more cautious in their attack and I am less likely to repeat the stokes numerous times to do the job. I can get very good results with either type of razor. I simply prefer the SR ritual and shave.
Not really, many of us get closer with SR. It's ok to have no desire. If you are happy with DE, keep on perfecting that. No one wants to discourage you or stop you. However, when you do finally try SR, you'll know for yourself, for sure, and also realize that it's way way way less of a risky big deal than it really seems. All my worst cuts are from safety razors as a newbie. Until you've mastered SR, your own question has no meaningful answer for you.
I have used just about every type of razor available and yes I can get a BBS with all of them. I settled on straights because I found that I can get just as good a shave with less irritation. I doubt I'll ever go back. The only problem I have with your can of worms is that you are comparing to something you haven't tried. Don't knock it until you've tried it. Having said that, I have no problem with people settling on a specific type of razor and sticking with it. Have fun!
I get a better shave from my DE than I do with a can of worms. But maybe I'm not opening the can correctly.
Kevin ( @HolyRollah) can testify. I was very hesitant to do SR. Lurked the SR threads for a year reading. The guys on the daily SR thread collectively know everything there is to know about SR. If you were to read Kevin teaching @Drygulch and watch @gssixgun video, you'd be surprised how doable it really is. After spending a year on DE, then Schick G for a while, straight came pretty easily. I never got cut worse than learning DE. I am not gonna bug you over SR anymore, but don't cheat yourself if you start to wonder about it. The answer is you absolutely will succeed if you try. And I promise, these guys around here will do everything they can to help you learn slowly and safely, at your pace. I will too. We all realize that it's an open blade, but we respect that for the real danger that it is. I am not an equipment snob in any way. If Bic disposable yielded best results for me, I'd be passionately arguing that case. My desire is to answer your honest questions to the best of my knowledge and experience, so that you can make the most informed decision possible. If that decision is no way on SR, I am good with it. You being you, doing your thing well, is always best.
I appreciate your passion for your chosen way of shaving. Since you have mastery of both disciplines, your posts always carry a lot of weight with me. But in this case we are going to have to agree to disagree. But, "I admire your honesty, you can come over to my house and..."
I approached SR shaving with this thought, "If my ancestors could do it, I can do it." They did. I can.