Gentlemen (and ladies),

Just wanted to reach out and introduce myself as a new memeber and a brand new Straight Shaver. This will be my first post in any forum of any kind so truthfully, I'm a noob in many senses of the word. So far, I have found the SRP to be an invaluable asset to my very slow progression to the perfect bbs shave. I thank you all.

By way of introduction: I'm the kind of guy who thinks the loss of ritual, time honored tradition and the fine art of doing things the right way has been one of the biggest deteriments to our global society. (that and reality television) Anyway, I've been shaving for years and I've always wondered about the Staright Razors. It was with two gift certificates that I finally took the plunge and got myself a brand new Straight, strop, cream and balm. yes I paid way too much for these things but that's okay. It's part of the learning curve.

I started shaving with a gillette trac II. It was what my father used. And watching him stretch and contort his face to get that cartridge to do its duty was a fascination to me. Something about it screamed of a skill that only a man would have. So with my trac II I copied. Years passed and after going through a progession of more blades and fancy handles I ended up with a fusion. I've never used shaving cream or after shaves. I just threw some conditioner on my face after a shower and shaved away. It worked beautifully. And I was convinced not using canned foams was going to prolong the life of my cartridge. Possibly. ANd I got some pretty good shaves. But I noticed that getting BBS with four blades made i nearly impossible to get a good shave the next day. I was just too beat up and my skin could not handle it. So I became a stubble guy every other day. Not so bad as a single man. But getting close to a lady with super sensitive skin made the clean shave very preferable. And thus...my new TI.

So now I"m about two weeks into the Straight Shave. I love it. The solace it offers every day. The tradition. The process and the ritual. I look forward to each and every shave. I know. Everyone says that. But I'm actually surprised at how rewarding it is. And I am shaving every day. Which is a great way to enjoy at least a small part of everyday o matter what trials I may have awaiting me.

If only I could manage to figure out how to shave my neck...So many changes in growth pattern so many hollws spots, so many angles. I can whip over the rest of my face with WTG ATG and XTG but my neck remains scrubby and embarassing. Oh well I"m sure the discovery moment will be soon ahead and as rewarding as the first successful pass I can so vividly remember.

Thanks again for all the support and I look forward beng a part of this community.

Cheers,

Cenzo