I've had similar success with wet shaving. I was using a Mach 3 turbo before, with pre-shave oil and various off-the-shelf foams and gels.
I bought a higher-end badger silver-tip brush, Taylor of Old Bond St. lavender cream, and that made a huge difference (especially with the pre-shave oil). Doing a second pass against the grain is no problem, even though I used to get ingrown hairs very easily.
I briefly experiemented with a straight razor, and this place:
http://www.straightrazorplace.com/
has everything you need to know about straight razor shaving and wet shaving in general. I personally found it to be a pain in the ass to learn given my penchant for sleeping late and that it takes longer to shave with straight, so I stuck with the Mach 3 Turbo.
I have a dark, thick beard that grows fast, and usually have to shave twice a day if I go out in the evening. This combo pretty much prevents it. You also get "You look younger" comments if your perma-shadow is removed. I don't always go to the effort, but it certainly looks better.