The more I read articles like these (they pop up everywhere once in a while), the more I am beginning to see a common theme develop, namely: It depends on the guy.

Google around for a while and look at all of the anecdotes, including the ones given in this thread. People say that everything is the best. It seems to me that a man's goal shouldn't be to find "the best" shaving setup, but instead the setup that works best for him. To that end, I've seen each of these setups described as "the best":

* Gillette (Mach3|Fusion) with (Brush & Mug|Shaving Gel|Shaving Foam)

* Straight Razor with Brush & Mug

* Double-Edged Safety Razor with Brush & Mug

* Buying a giant bag of disposable single/double-bladed razors, making a single stroke with each one and discarding it until you find one that was manufactured fantastically sharp, and nurse it with the "arm as a strop" technique for weeks and weeks until it's finally too torn up to use; repeat

Other techniques include:

* Shaving after you shower

* Shaving religiously every day (so that you are only ever shaving short hairs, increasing the life of your blade and preventing ingrown hairs since you don't let the hairs grow)

* Shaving once a week (so that you are only ever shaving hairs long enough to grow, increasing the life of your blade and preventing ingrown hairs since you shave less often).

(Yes, those last two are contradictory and I have heard that both are "the best".)

I went on a bit of a Shaving Odyssey a few years ago, determined to find a better solution than my Mach3 with shaving gel, which yields wildly inconsistent results. I think it has to do with the blades; occasionally I'll get a cartridge that lasts 6 shaves and leaves me delightfully smooth without a single nick, other times the brand new blade will be like shaving with nettles and I look like a zombie.

I sought out my barber, a salty Sicilian who had once given me the best shave of my life with a straight razor. I joined him for lunch and, while he scarfed down a chicken parm hero, I asked him if I should learn to use a straight razor.

"Listen," he said in his thick accent, brow furrowing gravely, "I won't lie to you. I speak to you now, like you are my own son." He mopped marinara sauce off of his lips.

"Don't shave with a straight razor."

I blinked. "What? But you..."

"You'll cut yourself into ribbons. I shave my customers with a straight razor, but you know what? I shave with a Mach3! If you want a close shave, shave every day. It doesn't matter what razor you use. The most important thing is shaving every day. My Mach3 blades last for months at a time."

I felt a little betrayed, but thanked him for his help and duly attempted shaving every day. It didn't work for me, and my Mach3 cartridges still lasted less than two weeks at very best. (Sometimes they will be unusable after only one shave!) I have discovered that my stubble shares some traits with steel wool, or perhaps barbed wire, and that sometimes it will simply destroy a disposable razor. That is, what works for a lot of other dudes simply will not work for me.

I haven't found my perfect setup yet. I'm sure it's out there, but for now, I know it's not a Mach3 with shave gel.