One thing that I would disagree is your point of view on honing. Don't get me wrong it wasn't as hard as I thought, but there are a couple of things that might come ready to some people, but that are hard to really become proficient. For example: back in college it took me 5 minutes to learn to throw a prefect cylinder on a potter's wheel, while it took half of the class the whole class (the ones that could). It took me 5 minutes to learn to throw a cylinder, but about 5 classes to be able to throw a vegetable steamer. The same could be said about honing it requires time and hand dexterity. A full hollow with a straight edge with a nice bevel could take you 5-30 minutes, but a heavily worn smiling wedges could take you a couple of sessions just to set a nice even bevel. If honing was that easy you would not see that many questions on the honing forum, and different approaches to it. I also think that brick and mortar stores have their place. Now the art of shaving stores are a good place to get done supplies with out having to wait 2-5 days for shipping. For razors you might be better going to a cutlery store.