I've given up on the HB - I simply hate it!
why do you hate it? i actually like it although im still gettin used to it. im waiting for my cut on my head to heal that i got from it a few days ago tho.
I still dig the Excel, never nicked myself so may wanna find where I put my HB and give it another shot. When your talking doubles or trip's it just depends. I didn't take to the trips. When it grows I've got quite dense, thick hair and the trips just gunked up alot.
Doubles just seem to cut cleaner and remove stubble better. Though I ditched the HB I found the Atra doubles the best blades for me. They're super sharp giving me the bomb in closeness and use these most with a handle instead.
Double blade works best for me. Ghost, it's rare that I ever nick myself with the HB, but looking back, it seems like when I did, the times I did falls into 2 buckets - 1) I was trying to go in a different direction other than front-to-back or back-to-front and 2) I went 2 or 3 days before shaving and probably tried adding a little pressure when none was needed. You might want to switch to daily shaving - believe me it won't take long for you to get to get up to speed due to experience, not because you're trying to set a speed record.
Stu don't be so reckless with your headblade. It's not a race.

I need time to achieve perfection. If I was given a choice of free blades I would select Mach3 over Fusion. The reason being two-fold. Fusion blades are over-priced and the shave is like driving the platform of a tractor over my head. Very irritating.
I find it very awkard to use and get better results with either the MIII or Fusion. I'm sure that when it all boils down all these options are simply what suits the individual.
I think I've tried them all. Fusion is the best for me so far
I use my Fusion on my face and around my ears...then use my HeadBlade for the rest of my dome when I get in the shower...