I don't ever do true ATG, for the reasons you list.

But if you learned that sometimes not learning is simply not learning, then at least you learned something!

Gentlemen, from my last shave...

I learned that I need not be off-put by generic labels. The blades are pretty good.

That Dr. Jon's soap is thirsty and provides a very good shave and post shave moisturization.

That the R41 might not work very well for me as a daily razor. Two days in a row where the shave did not feel nearly as close as usual. I actually could have used 3 full passes instead of the usual 2, but feared some irritation so I went with CCS. Looking back at my log (yes, I'm that OCD, at least for my first year) I noticed that I had at least a day and a half of growth for all of my other R4 shaves. I'll skip tomorrow and see how Wednesday goes, then I'll switch back to the Fatboy for a while for comparison.

Second shave without any further shaving related knowledge acquired.
I got dumber...more dumb?....dumberer in 2015.

It's definitely dumberer...definitely.

I learned that I'm getting more comfortable with my straight. Felt almost natural to pick it up this time.

So you learned it's possible to shave twice without learning anything. At least you learned that!

Gentlemen, from my last shave...

I learned that blade sharpness is yet another factor that must be worked into learning a new razor. I can't make a blade sharper by using more pressure.

I've learned the spike point one a couple times. I loved it, but when you aren't watching it gets you

Some razors MORE so than others, despite all having a spike point. Larger, longer blades tend to be more problematic for me sometimes.

That sounds like a good way to remove a layer of dermis!

That there are places to be frugal ( make yor own pre shave oil, bay rum, and tend skin) which is very creative and fun, however being frugal by stretching out the life of your razor blade is counter productive. My feathers have maybe 2-3 shaves before they have to go...otherwise Tuggy McTugerson...ouch.

Or a bad way to remove dermis...but who's counting!

For about 6 months I used my R41 (2013) exclusively, I found that I couldn't shave everyday with it. I ended up going every other day.

I learned that MdC needs to be in my rotation a couple times a week. The way my face feels 11 hours post shave is crazy good.

That's how I judge soaps/shaves too! It's why I am writing my 30 Day Rule reports 8-12 hours after the shave. MdC is going on my list!

I wish I stated before 01-01-2015 (That was my first DE shave)

I learned not to go past 3 shaves on each blade or I'm in a world of pain.