Stumped by stubborn Barbarian stubble

I hate to talk about personal issues, but just this once I’ll make an exception, and weigh in on the great razor debate now rocking the blogosphere.
I’m with Michael Demmons:

….if you use a blade, stick with it. Here?s why. Men, in general, always had smoother skin when they became older because they shaved with a blade. What do you need when you shave with a blade? You need cream. Where does that cream go? On your face, obviously. What?s in the cream? Moisturizers. Since men have largely stopped using blades, they?re now as wrinkled up as old ladies are, when they never were in the old dayes!!

I’m not a Metrosexual type, so I’d never buy or use a “moisturizer.” But I’ve used both electric and blade razors, and I prefer the blade. Here’s why. Electric razors pull on the stubble, and I have a very heavy beard. In my opinion, the hacking and pulling toughens the stubble, making each stump grow wider over time. Plus, the rotary blades wear out, but very slowly, so you really can’t tell exactly when it’s time to buy news ones. (They aren’t cheap, either!) I also suspect that the constant stress on the little hair stumps cause them to recede underneath the skin, which creates painful ingrown hair infections. Like zits except with a decaying stump festering in the middle. (Yuck!) This condition used to plague me regularly when I used the Norelco, but since I’ve switched to the blade it hasn’t happened at all.
As to the blade, I love the Gillette Mach 3 (or the previous Mach 2), with the triple blade. I almost never cut myself shaving because the three blades add the kind of stability you’d never get with a single blade. I admit, the styling of these razors gets a little ridiculous. Almost scifi, like a rocket ship about to blast off.
But my view about heavy beards finds confirmation:

Tom Nardone:
Type of Use: A very thick, fast growing beard. I’ve had really bad luck with electrics because my beard is too thick. Using an electric made me look like I forgot to shave. Before the Mach 3 I was using an Atra. I never switched to the razors that flexed to “match the contours of your face” because they seemed a little to unrealistic to me.

Actually, some people very much enjoy the “forgot to shave” look. Much as I hate to politicize this otherwise non-political post, I should point out that the best way to maintain the Yasser Arafat look is not to use a razor at all, but one of these.
I’ve tried the stubble look, as well as the bearded look, but I’m enough of a barbarian as it is without needing to look like one.
UPDATE: More on the Mach 3 Turbo, along with a complaint that it does not, um, vibrate like the power version:

And oh how it vibrates. The folks at Gillette truly have taken it to the next level with this little honey. The three blades trim your whiskers as effortlessly as an opposing quarterback slicing and dicing the Vikings secondary, while the vibrating handle creates the sensation of a gentle massage. Shaving really doesn’t get much better.

Wow. I never thought anyone could actually like shaving.
MORE: In the general spirit of this blog, it’s probably worth a reminder that the civilized ancients believed in shaving the face — and more.

The Romans also disapproved of pubic hair; young girls began removing it as soon as the first hair appeared. They used tweezers, which they called the “volsella”. They also had a kind of depilatory cream, the “philotrum” or “dropax”, sometimes made with bryonia, the forerunners of the current depilatory creams. Waxing was also a way of depilating; this was done with resin or pitch. And the practice of pubic hair removal wasn’t unique to Rome. It was practiced in even the most remote parts of the empire. Julius Caesar (101-44 BC) writes that, “The Britons shave every part of their body except their head and upper lip.” It is reported that Poppaea, wife of the Roman Emperor Nero, used depilatory creams to remove unwanted body hair daily. The latest available creams included some wonderful ingredients, like resin, pitch, white vine or ivy gum extract, ass’s fat, she-goat’s gall, bat’s blood, and powdered viper.

I think I’ll stick with my Mach 3.