[Jfporco]

Shaun:
I have Been offline playing car mechanic.....
Anyway, for me the issue is not make, but grind. I am a wedge fan. I have thick whiskers (it's the Italian heritage) and a wedge blade cuts through them like butter. If you have thinner hair, you might be OK with a semi-hollow or double hollow grind - look up the differences at badgerandblade.com. There are several custom makers (I own several hart steel straights) that make the TI's of the world look like butter knives! Also remember software (creams and lotions and soaps) are just as important as the hardware. Took me about 2 months to get real comfortable honing and stropping so DO NOT start out with a good (aka valuable) straight, you WILL dull the blade and cut your strop and generally massacre the tools. But stick with it. After 2 months of practice and concentrating on what I was doing - shaving is simple right? - then the fun and experimentation and cuts, and nicks really begins. Stick with it. It really makes you appreciate what your grandfathers went through. Also, experiment with a SE once or twice, they can be just as fun and as deadly!
Happy shaves....
Jim