My name is Mark. I started shaving with straight razors 20+ years ago because I was tired of buying disposables which clogged after a couple of uses. I don't have as much experience as you may think; most of those years I had a beard and only used the razor to trim around it--the tops of my cheeks and bottom of my neck. I now have a goatee, so I have never shaved my chin with a straight.

Recently, I broke the scales on my razor, a Henckels 401, and began to search for a new razor. I thought I was the only guy in the world shaving with straights until my search brought me to this sight.

The time I've spent on this sight has been eye opening: there are many things I have been doing wrong from sharpening techniques to never using my weak hand. The wealth of information contained here is astonishing, I will be spending a lot more time here.

Thanks to Lynn for starting such a great sight.