Hi folks,

I switched from cartridge razors to safety razors some time ago, and shaving went from being a chore that I hated to one that I look forward to every morning. The learning curve was interesting; my biggest challenge was too much pressure on my face. Once I figured that out, I was stunned by the smoothness of the shave and how pleasant the act of shaving itself was.

As I read more, I saw that safety razors make a good transition step to straight razors. My first thought was "no way, this is good enough," but as you can imagine, the allure of an even smoother shave drew me in. After doing my research (Lynn's videos especially), I got a Dovo 5/8" from SRD. My first shave resulted in a fair amount of razor burn and no cutting of hair, but this morning was my 4th shave in 4 days, and the smoothness is almost where I was with the safety razor. Burn is still a bit of an issue, but only where my beard ends and it's just plain skin. I had been using a preshave balm, but today I took delivery on a quality preshave oil, so I am hoping for better results tomorrow.

I've started watching honing videos, since I know that will be needed eventually. At $25 plus shipping for honing, a set of stones pretty quickly pay for themselves. My one question about stones is regarding the 12000 Naniwa. In Lynn's video, the stone seems to be mounted on some kind of wooden base, but in the picture to buy on the website, the stone seems to be by itself. Does it come with that wooden base, or is that something that needs to be purchased separately?

Thanks in advance for your replies, and I look forward to learning and discussing shaving and products with all of you!