I'm now 5 shaves in and can made it around my face pretty much (almost) nick-free. Shaving is a much less stressful affair now. With the scuttle that came in 2 days ago, I look forward to the warm lather and am now moving towards daily shaves from every-other day shaves. Still have trouble with the right half of the top lip, but that should sort itself out with more practice. Haven't had the guts to try the scooping approach I read about on the forum...maybe one day...I will say that my skin has never been this smooth with the built-in exfoliation the SR razor provides. Wish I had started this 20 years ago...

I think this brings to an end the start-up phase of my SR shaving story, and so I'd like to thank everyone for the advice I've been receiving. From here on out, it looks like skills should keep improving with continued practice. Thanks again everyone!