ok, i used to shave for about 6 yrs or so, which did the job quite well. Hot shower, soften up the area. Didnt necessarily need a new razor but certainly not an old one that needed replacing a long time back! i found conditioner worked well to smoothen things out and then shave holding the skin taught.
the only problem with shaving was i found myself doing it every other day eventually to keep the smoothness.
Upside - convenient, cheap, easy and quick
Downside - not as effective as other methods, hair grows back faster and thicker over time
in the last 6 months i turned to waxing and now would never look back. it is important to find a reputed person to do the job as i have had 3 people do it now and 1 of them was absolutely awful.
Upside - super smooth - best ever results you'd imagine, long lasting results, regrowth is finer/more sparse each time and did i mention super smooth finish!
downside - cost £40-£50 depending on amount of hair (this is a cost near where I live, Surrey - i have seen it cost more in London). Normally it starts at £50 and goes down to £40 after a couple of sessions, obviously you have to make the visit to the salon so requires a bit of planning - but nothing more complicated than getting your hair done (literally) monthly or every 6 weeks, painful - but to be honest its a few bursts of short sharp pain which you forget about as quickly as it happens. you might be a little sore the first time but by the next day you forget about it all - and trust me the feeling fo being that smooth and neat and tidy is totally worth it!
I'd also definitely recommend the people who do mine and are soon going to be doing Tam too.