For the Zen of it.

I grew tired of the canned foam and asked my wife to buy me a soap & mug and brush for Christmas. That was a revelation, not because the lather was so much better (it was, of course!) but because I found myself really enjoying and relaxing during the lather-making process. It was a moment of calm in my bathroom, on my own. I didn't expect that.

Then a friend bought me the Anders Larsen book as a light-hearted joke to compliment the mug and brush my wife bought. I read that over the Christmas holidays and found myself thinking "If making lather can be so relaxing, maybe I should go the whole hog?"

Next thing I know I'm on the internet, reading this forum, researching what to buy.

So now I'm completely hooked. And it's not so much the quality of the shave (I'm still not proficient enough to beat my Mach 3, e.g. top lip), and it's not really the whole pampering thing (though I do admit to enjoying that too), and it's not the honing, stropping, pasting, etc. It's the TIME. To myself, on my own, in peace.

With two kids (4 and 1) and a four-hour commute to work and back everyday it can be challenging finding a moment to unwind. Shaving with a straight (and all its connected activity) does it for me in the best way. And at the end there is the satifaction of a tangible result.

(Even if it's not a good result, it's not disparaging. Like when a round of golf doesn't go well, or your soccer team plays badly that week... you take the rough with the smooth but the path there is always rewarding.)

Excuse me whil I go and meditate... Ommmmmmmmm.