After reading this thread I went on a quest, of sorts, to find an enjoyable method of shaving. First off, I HATED shaving, and would either grow a beard or just shave once or twice a week. It always seemed to irritate my skin to a point of soreness no matter the razor I tried.
I searched around and finally found what I think is a very enjoyable experience when it comes to shaving. I started out with a cheap boars brush and some VDH shaving soap, bought from Walmart. I kept using the 5 blade contraption I had with the brush and soap. That alone was a much better experience so I took it a bit farther and got to looking at traditional double edge razors.