I was with you in that thinking. I got the part about the potential learning and easier maintenance, but in the end, I was left with the same question, why not just go right to the real deal.

Well a couple of weeks ago, a buddy of mine expressed an interest in using a straight. To the point that he said he even had a dream about it. We talked, and the more he told me, the more I realized that he would never really be in a position currently to use a straight razor. He'd need two, need a strop, and the the necessary learning curve. He simply doesn't have the money, nor the time to do this.

I gave him my old Parker Shavette with all the Shark blades, he already had been using a brush and Proraso, so he was fine there, a link to this website and Lynn's video of the first straight shave, and he's following that and is perfectly happy with this setup. Cheaper than using his Mach's by far, and he gets the enjoyment from using a straight, all is good, and from his perspective, it's simply the best solution - keep it simple.