Greetings from the latest new guy.
I found this group from a white paper Christopher Moss wrote titled "The Art of the Straght Razor Shave" (After making an uninformed purchase :banghead:)
I have wanted to learn to use a straight razor for ages, and I have already started out the wrong way, making an impulsive purchase (Kriegar Pakawood). It looks nice... but I don't think I'm going far with it... it was 8 bucks. I haven't hurt myself with it, so it'll just become part of my knife collection...and maybe my sharpening practice blade. Lesson learned. I have since purchased a Dovo blade, following tips I found on this site a little while ago (and a properstone and strop)...now I have to wait for the UPS man.
(For the moderators... I also run a vbulletin site for my company; you guys did a really nice job in setting yours up; I am still in the 3.8 version...never made the leap to 4- your setup may make me rethink that.)
I'm a renaissance guy anyway (pocket watches, pipes, fedoras, etc.), so it makes sense that I ditch those horrid (and increasingly expensive) mach 3 blades, and go old school for my shaving as well. I travel a great deal, and I haven't quite figured out how I am going to get all the accoutrements into my kit, but I'll worry about that after I learn how to use one over my own home sink.
John.