I believe it when our friend here says he's no greenhorn. He might be new to this hobby but he already has 6 months of experience at it & I believe he has done his homework & is different from many new members who have never used a straight before. Those are the ones that need to get their straight razor pro honed but you can see from his first post he first started honing & seems to have done well & getting better with time. Also on one of his last runs, while in California, he stopped by Classic Shaving in which they treated him very well there & with lots of respect or he wouldn't have spent two hours there. I know if I didn't like a place in the first 5-10 minutes, I would have walked out the door rather than waste my time there. He also mentions in another post that he had his straight's with him & took them into CS for Will to look at & after talking, he was told he is on the right track. This guy isn't the average new member. He has done a lot of reading, most likely at night on the internet & watched a lot of YouTube video's on straight razor shaving. Also, I think he is one who can pick things up fast like he started with honing first & seemed to do pretty good at it. I wouldn't advise it to any other new member but this man is an exception from what I have read so far. He has made some good points plus he said " No disrespect to the pros" & "Experience is the best teacher.". Being a former factory certified Harley-Davidson service tech for many years, I learned most of my knowledge out in the field. Few people are natural born learners & he seems to be one of them. Although I have always had a mechanical ability, thanks to my dad, God rest his soul, I went through a school with intentions of making good grades but I never thought I would make the highest grade average plus get the "Top Tech" award for it. They just don't give those away, only one is given per graduation period & it is earned through hard work. I aced most of my quizzes & when I got one question wrong, I was angry at myself & would go home & look through my notes & books for the right answer.

http://i.imgur.com/OTC7KEV.png?1

I'm proud of that but I won't show my complete transcript, I don't want to hijack this thread. Nuf said about my schooling.
I say he has done his homework after I read he has "beautiful straight razors, gold washed, etched, carved, barber's notches, Spanish points, square points, etc. that I can hold in my hand EVERY night, a blade that I've hone razor perfection... now that's the art of manliness." That's his decision & personal preference what he wants & likes. I personally do not own a GD but I have read a lot about them. Each one isn't the same. Some are good & some aren't so good. It sounds like he got lucky & got one of the better ones. They aren't on the list of "Brands of Straight Razor's to Avoid". Everyone has their own opinion & I say, to each his/her own. I wish Longhaultanker the best of luck in the future. He seems to be a pretty knowledgable man!