Thread: thoughts for newbie shaving sucess

I read post after post from novice shavers who are starting to shave with str8s...for the most part it seems their initial experience is less than gratifying...The shave is not close and in many cases unpleasant and bloody...so what do they do? after reading the forum posts, they buy a norton stone or buy paste to apply to a strop which should be applied to a paddle and work the razor to death...In my opinion this is not the road to sucess! A new shaver needs to learn and master the basics of stroping and shaving with the str8...He needs to purchase a shave ready str8 from a proven honer such as lynn...he needs to start out with a blade he can handle such as a 5/8 blade...by doing this, the new shaver will learn what a sharp blade is...the newbie should refrain from honing or sharpening with paste as improper technique will destroy whatever edge the honemeister has put on the razor and then its back to square one...I know everyone on this forum wants to see newbies...learn and enjoy the pleasures of str8 shaving...hopefully my thoughts will save the new shaver a lot of... pain and frustration