I've been shaving with DE razors for the past 3 years. I started shaving with SRs 3 weeks ago.

My shaves have progressed from impossible to not bad -- even a little BBS on my cheeks today. I am starting to feel what the light touch is all about, but only in spots.

I was graciously given a couple of shave ready straights by @jmabuse and @Newcreature. Then grabbed a couple more by trading off a couple of my collectible DE razors with @Darrell, who is leaving us for DEs.

I have only spent money on a Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop, which I have nicked up pretty badly -- there are a couple of 6 inch sections that I can still use. However, Darrell also threw in a couple of old strops that I am restoring. I am being conservative on spending, because I've been down the rabbit hole with DEs before.

My biggest challenge has been shaving my goatee, esp my chin. In the last 2 shaves, that area has been good enough to go to work with. A few times, I've pulled out the DE to finish off the job -- I've tried not to do that too much.

I asked here earlier about shaving soaps that may be better for SRs vs. DEs. The response I got was no, not really. That is probably true, except for beginners. It is taking me 30-40 minutes to shave right now. So I do find that some soaps that are usually fine, dry out too fast for such a long effort -- Tabac, DR Harris.

My biggest surprise are cuts that show up after a day. I have apparently cut myself several times where I had no idea that I did it and saw no blood. But the next day there is a light scabbed line. Today, I am sporting 6 cuts from the past 3 days -- 4 are the mystery lines, 1 under my nose, and 1 on the inside of my nostril. None are bad or painful.

I could give SRs a rest for a couple of days to heal up, but I really don't want to -- I'm making progress every shave. So, I vacillate between "Why am I putting myself through this?" to thinking about tomorrow's shave.