It's not worth it anymore. This is my final shave with a straight razor, at least a modern one. I've enjoyed over 3 years of shaving with a straight razor but have now come to believe that it just isn't practical to my circumstances. A Fromm carbon blade was my first and certainly was a great quality blade. I only had it sharpened two times and rarely ever had to go over any skin twice. Finally, it rusted up on me and rather than trying to get it restored, I decided to get a different blade. After much research I decided to go with a stainless steel blade through on online seller who had it on sale, a terrible choice that led me to this decision. Not only has it failed to make clean cuts but it's also nicked my skin endless times and just developed a light chip after placing it on a plastic bathroom bag along the plastic zipper. As light as it appears it now scratching in to my strop at every stroke. It would only be foolish to keep trying to shave with a blade that can't hold on a edge and even more foolish to buy another $80-100 blade.

I once thought of straight razors an an investment. In 2006, I purchased a shave kit on Ebay by a reputable seller who not longer sells kits but continues to sell strops. I realized later that the razor I recieved with the kit was a highly praised blade in a shave kit that at $100, as we know, is a great value. I went on to buy another strop later and several cakes of soap , a combined cost that was far less than buying disposable razors or an electric shaver. So time came when I had to buy another blade and at $120 it still seemed worth every penny. Wrong. Now I have a blade that's too delicate to use while too difficult to maintain a sharp edge. I spent years persuading others of the great investments in learning to shave with straight razors but not anymore. My experience certainly doesn't account for every successful shave from those on this forum, but if I can't get the shave I once did without breaking the bank, than it's time to break out the Gillete and say goodbye to a good past.