I've been shaving with a straight razor now for approximately one and one-half weeks, and yesterday my skills got put to a test. I am in the Army Reserves and had to go to drill yesterday. We started the day with a physical fitness test, after which I had to go to the gym on base for a quick shower and shave before reporting back for training. By the time I got to the gym, unpacked and showered, I was left with about 15 minutes to shave, get dressed and be back in the car...

I wasn't sure how this would go, I debated breaking out my DE that I had brought just in case, but decided that I was determined to make it happen, so I pulled out my Proraso and the little bowl I packed and started making some lather. It wasn't my best batch of lather, but I knew it was going to do the job. I'd stropped my razor the night before, in anticipation of this shave, so skipped that step. My first pass, WTG went fairly quickly. It wasn't my cleanest pass, and I gave myself two little nicks with the spike point, but I wasn't too upset given my haste. The second pass, I went XTG. This one was done even more quickly. As I rinsed, I debated relathering for a third pass, but the time was getting short, so I did a slight bit of touch up with just water.

The result, three nicks, and a passable, though not near BBS shave. Total time, with clean up: 12 minutes. It was not nearly the luxurious and enjoyable time I spend every morning where my shave process lasts for about 30-45 minutes, but I gained a good perspective. I also realized that I can do a quick shave when necessary, which dispelled one of my greatest fears of making the straight change--that every shave would just be too great of an ordeal to do on a regular basis...

Thanks for letting me share!