Buy a shavette. Yup, a shavette. I'm certainly not saying you should replace your straight with a shavette, but merely add it to your rotation. There's several reasons why this noob thinks other noobs (and maybe even seasoned pros) should have a shavette:

1. Shavette blades are SHARP! Damn sharp. Unfortunately, they are sooo sharp that many will feel like they are overly harsh. Which is actually an advantage.

2. The overly harsh/sharp blade makes you concentrate (your undivided attention, really) on your technique. Don't use any pressure with a shavette, or you'll bleed. Make sure the *edge* is totally flat on your face at all times, or you'll bleed. Don't do anything wrong regarding your technique, or you'll bleed. Don't use too high of a blade angle, or you'll remove too much skin, which makes for killer razor burn. Shavettes really make you concentrate on your technique. I've found that I've gotten sloppy with my technique. A few shaves with a shavette will get you back in line in a hurry.

3. They make for a great comparison as to how sharp your regular straights are. They will also give you a great appreciation for the fine work of our honemeisters, as well as give you a target to shoot for. You may not realize exactly how not-sharp your straights are until you either: A. Get a straight sharpened by a honemeister, or B. Buy a shavette to compare them to.

The two honemeisters I have used so far have hit a very small target. As sharpness goes up, so does "harshness". At the shavette level of sharpness, the harshness is too much. Both honemeisters I've used have been able to get the perfect level of sharpness/harshness. Just slightly below a shavette, but not so dull as to pull. I'm getting to the point where I can hit that target more consistently, but then again, I hone * a lot*.

The dulling of a straight razor is a slow process. (duh). Often times, it seems like I don't even realize how dull a straight is until I compare it to a shavette. Like today.... using my Lynn honed blade for half a face, then a shavette for the other half. I didn't really realize how much of the edge was gone from my Lynn honed blade until a pass with the shavette made me realize that the straight was pulling like crazy. Silly me didn't even realize it. For those of you guys that don't hone, having a shavette will really let you know when it's time to send your blade off for honing.

When used with good technique, shavettes are capable of giving a comfortable shave. If you're bleeding or burned, it means you need to adjust something.

A couple things about buying a shavette... I would recommend getting a shavette that uses long blades. My shavette uses Derby standard DE blades that are broken in half at the factory. This gives you a very short edge. Too short, really. It is much harder to use a short blade that has two spike points than a longer blade with only one. I believe that Classic Shaving carries a shavette that uses custom blades. They are more expensive, but the blades are also longer, and I believe they are only spiked at one end. To me, this seems like it would be much easier to learn, and not so quick to judge you on anything less than perfect technique.

Now please excuse me while I go grab my styptic pencil. The shavette was incredibly critical of my technique today.