Hi to all. Look forward to learning from everyone on this forum. I've read the beginners guide and found the "shopping list". The info has been very helpful for me so far. I'm a long time wet shaver using the basic 3 blade system who now wants to move to a straight razor. My first memories of shaving is likely to be the same as a lot of you. Watching my dad. He was a WWII and D-Day vet. A man of modest means who would never waste a thing. His brush was a stubby black handled affair with light colored bristles. They were so worn out that the only ones left stood straight up with none flaring outward. It may have been an army issue but not sure. He couldn't afford any real shave creams so he would use that brush to build up a usable lather from a regular bar of bath soap. Then out came the straight razor and a leather strap (wish I still had them around). 50 years ago and I can remember it like it was yesterday. Sorry for this long winded intro but it's the reason I'm here. You see unfortunately he passed away before I started to shave so I've never had a chance to learn how to use one. I've always been fascinated and attracted and now it's time. I'm already dedicated to making this work so I'll be a good pupil if someone wants to jump in as a mentor. I'm currently happy with my shave cream so the help I need initially will be stepping through the process of finding a good first razor and strop. From what I've read here used are recommended for this purpose. I'll leave it at that and will now move on to a few of the other boards to get some of my questions going. Thanks for listening. Rick
