What originally got me into it was probably the nostalgia of the straight blades and frustration with multi-blade razors. I'll be honest, part of it really was James Bond too...I think we all know the part. I was becoming fairly fed up with multi-blade razors and every time I went to the store, I would get just a little bit more angry with the prices on blades. Furthermore, as much as I travel, I keep on running into places that don't stock the particular brand or model that I have...and are the blades cross-compatible? Noooooo. So I would end up buying a new razor...and the associated blades, only to find out that my next location didn't stock those blades. At any rate, as I began learning how to shave with a straight razor, a couple of other bonuses appeared:

- no more ingrown hairs. I don't know the mechanics of it, but I would always get ingrown hairs along the jawline with my multi-blade. No more!
- like others on the boards, I LOVE tinkering, and this gives me a great excuse to work with, possibly, 100 year old pieces of art
- it truly is fun to shave in public bathrooms with them (it really turns heads), or bust out the strop in the tent with all your buds. Usually, lots of questions follow.
- despite the fact that she vehemently refuses to let me teach her how to shave me with the blade (she's scared of it), my wife really does like the closeness of the shave
- with a 2-year old in the house (and another on the way), this gives me a reason to shut the door and have some calm time to myself. Nice shower, turn on some tunes, get the blade ready, lather up, and shave away.