Thanks guys...I will keep this in mind. I am currently awaiting Lynn's DVD - once I get a chance to look through that, I will probably be ready to make my purchases, eventhough I already have an idea of what I will end up doing.

As far as the offers for blades to practice honing, I may just take you guys up on that offer - I will definitely be in touch.

It's the weirdest thing - I am usually an extremely patient guy, but I find myself being very eager to get started with str8 shaving - I almost hope I am not hyping it too much in mind. From everything I read in the forums, I don't know if that's possible to do!