Since returning to wet shaving about a dozen years or so ago, the only DE that I have used is a Gillette Black Beauty adjustable. It still works like a charm, but I decided that it was time to branch out. So I ordered a Merkur 34C, which finally arrived yesterday. Since I didn't have to go to work last night, I waited until this morning to shave. I won't be going back to work again until tomorrow night, so I'll wait until then to shave again. (That's my usual routine for my nights off: shaving the morning after my first night off and waiting until the night of my return to work to shave again.) Anyway, my first shave with the 34C was not as good as I was hoping. I am so used to shaving with the black beauty that I was having difficulty getting just the right angle or the right placement of the blade to shave any whiskers off at all. Fortunately I didn't carve up my face trying to figure that out, and I did end up with a fairly okay shave. Not dfs and certainly not bbs, but okay. I'm not sure what the reason is for the difficulty in getting the same kind of shave with a 34C that I get with the black beauty. I just figured it would be the same as far as how to hold the razor against my face to get the blade to cut the whiskers. But for some reason I had to experiment with proper angles and such. How long does it usually take to get used to using a "fixed blade" razor such as a 34C after shaving for so long with an adjustable razor like the black beauty? Before shaving this morning I was debating whether to order a couple of other razors such as the Parker 91r and the Muhle r108. After this morning's shave, however, I think I might want to wait a while before doing that, just so I can get used to the technique of using a non-adjustable razor. After that, then maybe I'll consider dipping further into RAD. What say, gents?