I can feel the blade on the Mild. I use a steep angle if that matters. I agree with you that there are no noticeable differences in the end results - and this is the most important thingThere is slightly more blade feel on the medium. You cannot feel the blade at all on the mild. It comes down to your preference. I did a 3 pass side by side comparison of the two with no extra buffing, and was shocked that they both gave an identical BBS result. The only difference was the slight blade awareness on the medium.