My thoughts in opening this thread wasn't to say that we shouldn't be helpful to beginners or that buying luxury shave items is bad or that giving the same advice over and over again is bad. Certainly, as long as we welcome beginners we will always be rehashing what is obvious to some of us over and over again and thats ok. Consider it a worthy price we pay to keep this art going and expanding. Its also OK in my book to buy top of the line items. Personally, I'm afraid I'm guilty of that myself.
My point here is that buying these top end products should not be the magic key for a beginner to think he will get a great shave just by having all that stuff. Rather its like a wine conoseur who buys pricey wine because he has learned how to enjoy and discriminate differing wine qualities. Thusly, "we" shave experts have mastered the basics and can now better enjoy the perceived quality to be enjoyed from this better quality paraphanelia whether the benefits are pschological or real.
Afterall we all know that a just washed and waxed car runs no better than a dirty one, or does it? Hmmm