Just thought I should post and introduce myself...

I've been wet shaving (with a brush and good quality shaving cream at least) since I had the good fortune to wander into Taylor's shop on Jermyn Street in London three years ago or so. Though I guess I've always wet shaved, in the sense of using hot water to soften my beard, for as long as I've /been/ shaving.

As far as shaving with a straight razor, that's relatively new - a few weeks really. Like a lot of the posts I've read, my first time out was a disaster, because my razor wasn't sharp enough, but I've learned that lesson. Amazingly, it was sharp enough to cut my ear and, the next morning (a full 24 hours later), leave me with a few thin red lines of cuts I'd never even noticed. And yikes, the razor burn. The family noticed.

I also discovered that I'm not enough of a contortionist to shave with a stright razor using only my right (dominant) hand, as I do with a safety razor. So, learning to switch hands halfway through was a bit of a trick. I also tend to start on one cheek and then shave all the way around my face, instead of doing, for example, both sides, then the neck and chin. Don't know why that is.

So, I'm still working on it, but I'm not giving up. The results have been getting steadily better. And it's not like the 50 pack of bic two-blade razors will go to waste - I'm not the only one in the house who shaves.

-Keith