I don't think we're on Bladeforums anymore, Toto...
As you might intuit from the forum, I'm new here. I suspect I was led here by three factors.
1) I'm a knife guy. Somewhere around two dozen of them litter my kitchen and living room, ranging from handmade kiridashi up to khukuris forged in Nepal from leaf springs.
2) I like doing some things the old fashioned way. Instant mashed potatoes have never sullied my kitchen. I use cast iron more than stainless steel cookware. My food processor is made by Shun out of VG-10 and pakka wood (it's a knife). You get the idea.
3) I have sensitive skin, and for years shaving had been decidedly unpleasant. It left my face razor burned and doing it more than a couple times a week was asking for trouble. Twice I grew a beard just to avoid it.
So last January I was in Las Vegas so my girlfriend could interview for a residency program. One of the malls on the Strip has an Art of Shaving, apparently. I originally went in just to admire the razors, but somehow I walked out with a starter kit (to provide insight as to how awesome the aforementioned girlfriend is, it was ultimately at her urging that I bought a straight razor). Given the nature of learning to shave with a straight razor, the improvements in my face prep alone led to dramatically more pleasant shaves. Right now, I'm at the point where I'm just starting to have good full shaves with a straight razor without any burn. I use one of two razors. Both are round point, half hollow, 6/8" with a double stabilizer. One is a new Thiers-Issard in C-135 Carbonsong (from Art of Shaving) and the other is a vintage Diamondine no7 in what I assume is Sheffield silver steel (from Whipped Dog).
Let's start with three questions.
One, what sort of reputation does Art of Shaving have among the folks here? I don't intend to give them any more business since I prefer the selection from Classic Shaving, but I was curious nonetheless.
Two, what are the virtues of cream versus those of soap? I've used both with success, but I'd like to know more experienced opinions.
Three, I'm quite happy with my razors now, but I'm curious to try other types. What is the advantage of a quarter ground blade? What about a full follow?