Here, Here and bravo!

I most definitely agree that while buying a shave ready razor from the start is probably best practice, there is also a huge amount of merit in buying a blade that needs a little TLC on the hone. You definitely get the same knowledge and experience, just from the opposite end of the spectrum. Now, that's not to say you can expect to go buy a piece of rusted, chipped and cracked junk, use it to molest a hone or strop and then be able to shave with it. But, I think it stands to reason that taking a blade that is in decent shape and learning to make it shave ready gives loads of experience, which as I'm told is the best teacher. Of course, RUINING said blade can also be a pretty huge learning experience.

I personally started with a shavette, and within a week had picked up a Geneva Cutlery Co. 5/8 from an antique store. In my efforts to polish it with a dremel, the wheel snagged the blade and pulled the shank of the attachment into the edge, resulting in a few chips and a small crack. I was pretty ill about that. But, I picked my self up by my boot straps, jumped on the forum here and just read, and read, and read some more. With the wealth of knowledge and wisdom here, I was able to hone the crack and chips out of the blade using a cheap Harbor Freight DMT and some 1k wet/dry sandpaper, then I spent a lot of time on my vintage barbers hone and strop. The end result was a relatively good shaver, though it still needs a bit of work. Thankfully, on Sunday I was finally able to order my Norton starter set so I can hone it, and the other 6 I've acquired (RAD, anyone?), properly.

I say definitely don't be scared to jump in and try a new skill. Just go at the rate you feel comfortable with. Obviously, most of us here, particularly the younger crowd, didn't have someone teach us to use a straight. It's a new skill we've acquired through research and experimentation. We obviously weren't scared to jump in and try a new method of shaving, so why be scared now? If you're good doing only a WTG pass, do so until you feel confident you do an XTG pass. You keep building your confidence until you go WTG, XTG and ATG. The same thing goes for honing, restoring, stroping or anything else for that matter. Do what's comfortable to you until you're comfortable taking the next step. But definitely try something new... after all, it's what led you here, right?