I think there is a real galaxie of space between many here on this forum and those that have shaved with a straight in the past. In the old days guys just shaved and maintained their razors the best they could. Maybe they got great shaves and maybe not so great and maybe they weren't really getting what they thought they were getting. Maybe that's why Mr Gillette was so successful. To most of us here this has become a hobby and there is this continual quest to achieve the very best like the guy who tinkers with the vintage car trying to tweak the best performance out of the engine.