M!

So I did the math. I started straight shaving in July of 2005 and shave about three times a week, sometimes more, more often a little less. By my reckoning I probably haven't quite reached it yet, but I'm closing in on my One Thousandth straight razor shave. Like many I wanted to learn to shave with a straight razor to spend less money for sending garbage to the landfill, but stayed with it because the shaves were so good. Thinking back to the beginning for me I remember wishing I had the knowledge and skills that the SR veterans had, that I could grok the shave in ways incomprehensible to me then. Now shaving with the straight is second nature to me. I can tell with just a few strokes when my razor is dulling. I know at a glance if my lather is coming together well. I can hear the edge reaching its performance level on the hone. I even understand implicitly the importance of proper beard prep in attaining an excellent shave. Gone, I mean absolutely gone, are in grown hairs. I never had many anyhow, but it's still nice to be rid of them. All the benefits of a great shave are mine and have been for years now. Except for being sequestered in the hospital when my son was born and I had brought along a Trac II, I have never touched another type of razor in all that time. Why would I? Curiosity about DE's I suppose, but it hasn't crested enough for me to make that step.

Again, I must thank this community for its expertise and generosity which, like the site itself, continues to grow.

I also wish to encourage those n00bs who wonder if it will really get as good as we always say. Yes indeed it will.

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