Hey guys. Allow me to introduce myself. Some of you may remember me from B&B and other forums. Name is Justin. I registered on here a lonnnng time ago and am finally prioritizing things in my life and this came up. A little about why I'm here:

To meet & talk with good people and, well, because I've finally had it. For years I've shaved with a Merkur Vision and then I got lazy one day and was on the road, forgot my razor and ended up going to do the mad-dash pharmacy thing and bought a Gillette Fusion (yeah I know) wondering what the hype was about. Well, it gave a darn good shave. Not as surgically close as the Vision/Feather blade combo but acceptable. Well I sort of backslid into that and have been shaving ever since with it. I still use my Shavemac brushes and soaps/creams but I've been using the Fusion. Well, by God I have had it with the prices and I really have all these years wanted to shave with a straight.

I was given a 5/8 by a nice member at B&B about 4 years ago. I bought a Dovo strop (which I still have) and it came pre-honed by a highly recommended person. I never quite got comfortable with it and when I tried against the grain I got a bit terrified. And that's where I stopped. I realize that I'm biting off a big journey here but I'm ready to get serious about learning it. I want independence from having to track down the "right" blade because it is nice and sharp and I'm also tired of having to pay $16.99 for 4 blades. So that leads me to the straight. After talking with some folks they recommended I go with a 6/8 or 7/8 blade, that maybe a bulkier blade would have been better for me.

At any rate, I don't have too much money to spend (still a student) but I'm putting a list of things I need to get together. I know this will be a fun journey but a painful one as well; I'm not naive. But if I can get as good a shave with a straight as I could with that Vision (opened all the way) with Feather blades, then it's worth the pain and the gain.

Feel free to suggest whatever you wish. I am going to be doing much reading, as I'm finally sold on doing this once and for all. I also want to say thanks to Lynn for providing this place. I've gotten the "we miss you" emails over and again and it served as a reminder that "hey, I really NEED to be a man and do this and quit worrying about getting cut." It's funny, I was the same way with the DE the first time, very scared. But after a while I could use the Vision with zero nicks, cuts, burns, and leave me face feeling beyond soft & supple.

Look forward to talking to you all, once again.