Well, I broke down and bought as straight. A great Reppenhagen Diamondine #7 from rawface. This little 6/8 came shave ready along with lots of great advice from rawface (thanks for the encouragement as well).

The first couple of shaves didn’t go that great. The blade was skipping and jumping like crazy so I would quit relatively quickly into the shave and go back to my DE. Part of the problem was not having lots of time to experiment.

Well, this morning I woke up early, probably from stressing over this straight issue. I re-read the last e-mail from rawface and hit the bathroom with renewed determination. I changed nothing in my prep/lather as I’ve been getting the best shaves of my life. I laid the straight flat against my sideburn and slowly lifted it to a slightly shallower angle than 30 degrees and went to town. Much smoother. No jumping and no skipping. Had to watch it as the smile jumped to my face and almost caused a nick.

It will take a bit to get used to the dry toast sound and the different feel but I’m loving it. I managed a WTG and an XTG on both cheeks finishing up with my DE. Face feels great, no irritation and no razor burn.

Of course I will keep myself humble as over confidence is the downfall of many newbies.

Thanks to everyone here and elsewhere for the great information, tutorials, and encouragement. And thanks to rawface for a great deal on an awesome razor and all of the info.

Charlie