My razor is off to spend some quality time with an anonymous good Samaritan. In the meantime, I shaved with a SE to some results that made me think a little bit.

I've only shaved with a safety razor three times, not including touch-ups. Tonight I decided to use a razor I've never used before with a brand-new Gem blade. That combination, along with my inexperience, did result in some mishandling and a little blood, but overall, it was an amazing shave. Amazing. My face feels like glass. I took pains to make sure my prep and process were more or less the same as if I used my straight. Same hot-water soak, same lathering, same shaving-direction. I even used the exact same stretching techniques. The only pressure I used was the gravity of the razor on my face (except for the aforementioned mishandled areas...I'm still learning that spot). As I was doing it, I thought that there was never a time when my straight could have done that. Not even when it was freshly honed did it glide through my beard that easily. Now granted, I obviously ruined the edge of my razor early on and was fighting an uphill battle from the beginning.

But this experience with my SE razor is how it's supposed to be, right? I mean, after my first pass with the SE I could have stopped and looked completely clean-shaven had I wanted to. It was never like that with my straight.

I'm hoping this is a sign that my technique has improved, that I'm on the right track and that hopefully I can get my blade straightened out and have this experience with a straight razor.

As good as it was though, it wasn't as much fun as the straight is, though.