I just stumbled across this site the other day. I have never tried shaving with a straight razor and in fact I have only ever seen one in person. I have been interested for awhile in different shaving systems because I am prone to getting razor bumps no matter what safety razor I use or what prep I use with it. I ordered a Dovo basic 5/8ths kit from VintageRazorsLLC based on all of the recommendations and I also got a couple stones to practice honing with. Many people have also posted about the inferiority of the Pakistani blades so I ordered one for about 5 bucks off of eBay just to see what the difference is. Seems like a great informative site. I'll post an update when I get my gear.