Thanks to this forum i got turned on to the Colonial Drug samplers. I requested the CF sampler and it's been fun. I also got my first brush from Ian Tang on ebay; a silver badger with the ivory colored handle( the "standard" knot size?) not the large knot at any rate. What fun whipping up a lather. It's lost maybe a few dozen hairs since i got it but hair loss seems to be slowing. I've noticed that the CF cream seems to be rather sensitive to cream/water ratio; not enough water and it won't lather, too much water and it just turns into a foam. Not really a complaint but rather an observation. I've recently watched a youtube vid where the shaver used a soap, glycerin, cream combo. Don't know if a cream is meant to be used all by itself. Will have to go to the Wiki and see. If i get the cream/water ratio just right the Castle Forbes cream is really wonderful; thick and very lubricating. Just some random thoughts this evening but really having fun with this new ritual. Got an Ed Jagger 89 and a 60 pack sampler of blades on the way but the straights will never go away. Cheers.