I don't think I would change a damned thing. I could not know what I know and do what I do if I hadn't the experience that I had.
I started in the early ninety's. I collected 2 razors from a local antique store. A Thistle cut and a razor called THE FLEEMAN and about a month later I picked up two more razors from a local antique store. A W M Elliot & co and a Wester Bros. Steel King . At this point I told my mother I was going to learn how to shave with a straight. She immediately introduced me to her next door neighbor who happened to be an 80+ year old barber who spent an hour showing me how to strop, sharpen, and shave. Then he gave me his first strop he received at his first job as a barber. he told me that when he received it it had been well used. I still have that strop.
The next two years I spent frustrated and pulling my hair out trying to shave with a straight. It took at least two years before I was getting consistent shaves.
For all the hell I went through I can't see changing a thing otherwise I dont think I could really understand what is required to shave with a straight...or maybe I just enjoy the pain of beating my head against the wall:banghead::banghead: ...who knows?