I'm late finding this post, but I have to compliment John on some great advice, clearly-stated, and easy to follow! I agree with several other posters that this would make an excellent sticky for the Shave Clinic and Newbie Check-In Forum. In the meantime, I'm going to bookmark this post and pass it on whenever I come across a newbie struggling with the infinite number of product and technique choices available for wet shaving.
Bravo!
Bravo!