I use a Merkur Futur with Astra Blades, set to somewhere between 2.75 and 3.25 (typically on the lower side). That plus any alcohol free aftershave leaves me with the best shave possible with low irritation (I have sensitive skin) and no blood loss. The shave lasts me about a day and a half before obvious stubble shows up. When I used a Mach III I had to shave every day.
That said, you don't really need the adjust-ability to deal with beard thickness, you set the blade gap to match your skin, the angle you shave at, and your blade selection. The idea is more gap means the razor cuts deeper into the exposed hair, giving a closer longer lasting shave. If you get too greedy, you eventually cut your face. Sharper blades typically need less blade gap than less aggressive blades. Adjustable razors just make it easier to tune for the other two variables you can control (sadly it does nothing to make your skin more robust ;).
Having a single disassemble-able razor is what helps with beard thickness. The hair just washes away rather than getting stuck in between the blades. Cut beard hair is fairly sharp and irritates the skin as it passes over your face. It also bends the blades and changes the angle the blades travel at. That can also increase irritation.
For a large swath of the world that isn't a big deal, but it makes it darn near impossible for me to get a good shave.
When I travel I use a non-adjustable 53 Gillette Super Speed[2] due to its light weight and size. It's not nearly as nice as the Futur but responds well to the Astra blades for a shave that is as good as I would get with a Mach III but without the cleaning needs and less irritation. I bought it for $20 off of ebay and it's not quite as pretty as the linked one.
That said, you don't really need the adjust-ability to deal with beard thickness, you set the blade gap to match your skin, the angle you shave at, and your blade selection. The idea is more gap means the razor cuts deeper into the exposed hair, giving a closer longer lasting shave. If you get too greedy, you eventually cut your face. Sharper blades typically need less blade gap than less aggressive blades. Adjustable razors just make it easier to tune for the other two variables you can control (sadly it does nothing to make your skin more robust ;).
Having a single disassemble-able razor is what helps with beard thickness. The hair just washes away rather than getting stuck in between the blades. Cut beard hair is fairly sharp and irritates the skin as it passes over your face. It also bends the blades and changes the angle the blades travel at. That can also increase irritation.
For a large swath of the world that isn't a big deal, but it makes it darn near impossible for me to get a good shave.
When I travel I use a non-adjustable 53 Gillette Super Speed[2] due to its light weight and size. It's not nearly as nice as the Futur but responds well to the Astra blades for a shave that is as good as I would get with a Mach III but without the cleaning needs and less irritation. I bought it for $20 off of ebay and it's not quite as pretty as the linked one.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Merkur-Futur-Safety-Razor-Finish/dp/B0...
[2] http://www.razoremporium.com/gillette-1953-notched-super-spe...
Brain dump:
http://www.shaving101.com/index.php/education/double-edge-sh...
http://www.shaving101.com/index.php/education/double-edge-sh...
http://www.shaving101.com/index.php/shaving-faqs/253-do-i-ne...