Like others have mentioned before -- this all boils down to whether or not you want an extra razor. I have the AOS 5/8 TI full hollow and it shaves really well. I even got one of their "promotional" lessons from the barber and to be honest, it wasn't helpful at all. He went over basic positioning of the razor and charted the areas of the face (something you can easily find on this site). I was also advised not to strop AT ALL, and that stropping is only to be done to sneak an extra shave or two before taking it to the hones. Bottom line, if you're looking for a new, relatively inexpensive razor, go for it and take whatever the barber says with a grain of salt. Otherwise, you can find everything you're looking for online.