As of yet, I have not made my straight razor shaves a daily ritual, for fear of irritating my skin. I've been waiting two or three days in between shaves, and when I do take up the blade, it's in the late evening. I estimate I've done about eight or nine straight razor shaves now, and each has been better than the one that preceded it.

The first couple of shaves took me about an hour or more, and even when I finished, I wasn't overly pleased with the result. But at around the fifth shave I got myself a brush and some shaving soap (I had been using regular "canned-cream") and everything seemed to fall into place. It was as though I wasn't "faking it" any longer, and the razor felt more natural in my hand. I was steady and confident and I got a great shave.

Now I'm pretty proficient at it. I shaved minutes ago and made a point of timing myself. The majority of the shave was done in under fifteen minutes and after a second and third pass (lathering each time) my face was super smooth and it was all accomplished in less than half an hour. So I've "shaved off" over fifty-percent of my shave time recently. Yeah! I plan to go even more quickly before long.

So I ask you: how long does it take you to complete your shaves now? And how long did it take when you were first starting out?