Hello, obviously I am new here and to this art. I've been a faithful user user of the M3 since I was a teenager. However, I have used a brush and soap for 6 or 7 years. Unfortunately, it is a boar brush I got at Walmart. As a security officer at a fairly big hospital, I am required to be clean shaven. I used to shave onle a couple times a week. Six years later, my face still can't take daily shaving and it never feels smooth. Recently, I had a particularly bad razor burn that didn't go away. The doctor gave me antibiotics and a note saying I'm not allowed to shave. The other officers are very jealous. Anyway, that is how I stumbled upon this site. I was researching so that this didn't happen again. I had never heard of pre=shave before and used stetson aftershave. I have a learned a lot this two weeks. I think I will be able to shave again this week. I am trying to get a DE before I do. From what I have read, it appears the Merkur HD is my only viable option. I hope it works out and I never have to resort to my M3 again. So that is my uninteresting story. I look forward to talking to many of you and appreciate any advice offered. I have learned so much already. Who knew there was so much to know about something my dad spent ten minutes teaching me.