I'm Rob from London, UK.

I gave up on cartridge razors about a year ago and bought an electric razor which didn't shave close enough. I thought a straight razor would give me the best shaves but after doing a lot of forum reading I was put off by the steep learning curve and got into DE razors instead. Recently, while using a Colonial General SE, which takes the Feather Artist Club blade, I started thinking about straights again. And once you get the itch, you've got to scratch it, haven't you?

I bought a cheap shavette which I found really helpful for practising angles and stretching my skin, following the progressive methods in Lynn Abrams' tutorial. It went well so bought a few straights – an Erbe 5/8 from Solingen and a Rigarazor 7/8 plus a paddle strop. I'm taking it steadily as I get used to the new techniques, doing my first pass with a straight and finishing off/tidying up with a safety razor. I can see how the RAD kicks in though! I've found the discipline of learning has really helped – I'm being much more fastidious about lather quality and keeping the bowl and brush warm.