Gentlemen, I've had the opportunity to read several of your posts here over the last month. Ever since I was in my twenties, I wanted to try straight razor shaving. 35 years late, I finally made the jump. It isn't as easy as the video tutorials make it look; definitely not for the timid. But, I managed to make through with just a couple of minor cuts. The most difficult part for me to shave is the hollow below my jaw. I have a hard time getting the razor into that hollow without cutting myself. I gotta find a way to figure that out.

I'm using a Theirs-Issar Spartacus with a rounded point, AOS pre-shave oil, AOS cream, and AOS after shave balm - all lavender. The shave turns out reasonably, and currently takes about half an hour, but I'm sure I will get better with practice. Stropping correctly is a bit of a challenge, too. I'm using one of those board strops from Lyn's Straight Razor Designs, that come with the four magnetic strips. I figured that would be more forgiving in terms of bowing the strop around the blade, and ruining the bevel.

So far so good. The goal of turning shaving into an experience rather than a chore has been accomplished.

Wish me luck.

BTW, any idea how I might contact Bob Allman about purchasing one of his beautiful pieces of razor art>

Thanks,

Kevin