Thanks for the replies so far.

It's dawning on me just how dangerous my "shavette" might be in my trembling newbie hands.

I read with interest the experiences of another forum member (entropy) as he started out with a feather AC before getting a real straight razor. I'm am worried about the sharpness and the difference in weight/balance of the razor that's on it's way compared to that of a real straight razor. I may just hold out until I can afford the real deal. I'm definitely buying a copy of Lynn's DVD too.

I envisage this escalating from utility to hobby to obsession quite rapidly as I read more and more on the art (much gleaned from this forum thanks). Ideally to begin with I'd like to obtain some decent basic kit (some of it courtesy of Tony methinks) and perhaps a couple of razors to practice honing on. Then we'll see how it goes from there.

Colin