My Sly is a compromise between cost, time, and safety. The reason King Gillette made a fortune was that the use of a straight razor is a delicate matter balancing the shave effect versus the slash effect. Yes, yes, I'm sure practice makes perfect, but--it's only a shave, and (come on, guys!) nearly any razor will do a perfectly fine job, and Ming is perfectly happy with his seventy-year old safety razor. So why add the whiff of danger to one's day when you can wimp out with a safety? Ming gets enough danger on the road to work.