Greetings Gentlemen,

Well, the stage is set and the actor is ready, now it's just come down to props. With a good brush and slick soaps abounding, I've got a hankering to try out the straight shave. My question for the more informed is whether or not beard toughness should be factored into what to look for in a new blade. I'm basically cursed with thick, coarse stubble (not Sasquatchesque, but persistant) on near translucent skin. Should I be looking for something in the 6/8 area and up? This will be my first shot with a straight and it may well influence my decision to continue or abandon, so I'd like to make sure I'm actually getting the best audition out of the blade as possible.

On another subject, I've seen only one ebay seller (altima55) mentioned as both reputable and prone to shipping the razors out with a true, shave-ready edge on them. Are there others? The one I had my eye on just cleared what I'd consider acceptable to spend on what might be a one-time use, so I could also use some info on anyone else auction honed blades (I know some are listed here sometimes, but don't see any now.)

Finally, and I'll apologise for going on so long, I was given a thin Puma (believe it was stamped 44 on the shank) that seems much smaller than any of the blades I've seen elsewhere. the blade measure's about 3/8ths of an inch. Should I assume this is a shaper rather than a shaver?

Thank you all in advance...