Always keep in mind that every razor, every blade, and every razor/blade pairing shave differently. That's one of the things nobody talks about: how expensive the research & development can be with DE shaving. I say this because you'll often see "pros: cheaper than cartridge shaving". It's misleading and not very often the case. You can so easily get sucked into scents and qualities of soaps. You can get sucked into a fascination for hardware. But even if you escape those temptations, just to find the best equipment for yourself, it can be costly. I think you can say this for all of shaving, but because we borrow our dad's razor for our first shave or maybe try an electric or two, we don't fully acknowledge the fact that if we tailored the shaving experience to the best possible results, you'd be spending some cash on the research. No matter how you shave, it costs you money at the beginning. It's one of those things you cannot escape in shaving...unless you simply don't do it and settle for a lesser shave (that you don't realize is a lesser shave because you haven't done the research to know otherwise).