Hey all, I've just come out the other end from my first couple of months of straight shaving, and I thought I'd share a few of the thing I've learned - and need still to learn, and see what your experiences have been.

One important thing I've learned is that there are so many different views about exactly which procedure is best - made tricky by the fact that many, understandably, know what works (or seems to) for them, but might not understand all the other possibilities, how they differ, let alone the physics and reasons *why* they differ as they do. The result is that there is a tremendous advantage to trying out various methods yourself and finding which you like best for your face and shaving preferences - but that you cannot just go and get the information you need from a single source. You have to *Truly* educate yourself, go through various trial, error, and further "corrected" or amended education.

For instance, one is told that one just needs a strop and maybe a paste or two, and you can send it out to get honed once or twice a year. But that honing has be done one-size fits all (and even if you could request a specific procedure, you would have no way of knowing which to request) - and one size doesn't fit all. Or at least you miss out on a big fun / advantage of straight edge shaving, which is that ultimate personalization.

Other things in this category include the differences between "paste" (diamond) sharpening vs. stone/hone sharpening, effects of different kinds of strops, effects of different finishing/smoothing procedures, etc. Also the popularity of full hollow grinds means that one might not even know that there are wedges and half hollows, which shave *very* differently - and which can be given a "Secondary edge."

Of course, the other thing is that trying out all these different methods requires a significant outlay of money, perhaps even before you have realized the full benefits of what you are outlaying for. Sure, one can wait a few months until one has gotten pretty far with some basic setup....

Just a few thoughts.