Hey All,

So I'm very new to the concept of straight shaving. I'm 21 from Sydney, Australia and just to get it out of the way, I call myself Sweeney because my name is Todd...No I don't have a criminal history :P

While I am very keen on the idea of getting myself a straight razor, I want to do a bit of research before making up my mind, simply because of a couple of issues independent to myself.

First of all, I am a big sufferer of 5 O'clock shadow. I currently switch back and forth between the good old Gillette Mach III and Fusion Razors. They give me somewhat of a descent shave (obviously nowhere near straight quality), but no matter how much time I put into in the morning, by afternoon, I can run my hand along my face and feel stubble returning already. I am curious if anyone else has had the same issue and how you find your experience after making the switch to straight.

The other thing is that I do get acne from time to time, not much on my face but on my neck and am wondering if a straight razor is worth getting if I have to deal with that (I'm sure there are a few tricks around it anyway) because my safe razors cut straight through them as they are.

The last thing I really want to ask is while I'm leaning towards the beauty of a cutthroat, I have noticed the brand Merkur making a heavy duty safety razor. Would it maybe be better in my case for any reason to just get that instead of a cutthroat/straight?

I do prefer the appearance and beauty of the straight, I think a safety takes away from the art of getting a good shave, but I would like to get a few thoughts on my case before committing to it all.

I hope I haven't overloaded with questions and look forward to your replies.

Todd