I came across this site a week or so ago when I was doing some online comparison shopping for a new pocketknife, and came across some posts about straight razors. After reading a few articles, watching videos on Youtube, and perusing this forum, I wandered over to Target and picked up some Proraso shaving cream, pre-shave, and a $13 boar brush to try out with my not-so-trusty Mach 3.

With the Mach 3, I seem to have the choice of a lousy, stubbly shave or a close shave with tons of skin irritation, especially on my neck. Like everyone else, I'm also a little tired of paying up to $10 for a box of four cartridges, and I feel a bit used as a consumer caught up in the middle of a razor war where building up to an obscene number of blades seems to be leading our faces to mutually assured destruction.

The three shaves I've had since I started experimenting with wetshaving have been great, although I'm still getting a lot of ingrown hairs and razor bumps on my neck. I'm pretty much sold on the idea of straight razor shaving.

It seems like the best way to start out is with Tony Miller's starter set. I told my fiancee that my goal is to work my way up to a smooth, nice-looking shave in time for our wedding on April 28. She said she would get me the starter set as a gift for the 2-year anniversary of our first date, in February. I'm thinking I'll ask her to get the set with a pasted paddle strop, and that if she wants to splurge a little more she can get the one with both the hanging and paddle strops.

One of my questions is about the timeframe. If I get this stuff in February, and have until April 28 to practice, is that a reasonable timeframe for a complete novice to achieve a good shave?

The second thing I've considered is to pick up a cheap-ish safety razor (I'm thinking a Merkur HD or a vintage Gilette Super Speed) and a variety of blades between now and February, and give that a try. I understand that a DE razor is tons better than a Mach 3 for many people, and some seem to use it to shave tricky spots while learning to use a straight razor. Would it be wise to try the DE as well, or is my face going to complain and tell me to stop trying so many new things in a relatively short period of time?

Finally, if I have just one razor and a pasted paddle strop, will that last me from February to the end of April, in terms of sharpness? Barring anything stupid like banging up the razor, would I also need to obtain and learn to use a hone to maintain the edge? My thinking has been that at some point I'll also buy a cheaper razor that's been refurbished to shave-ready condition by one of the guys on this forum, use until it could use a good honing, and then try to learn to hone on that one.