Hello everyone! New member; first post. Hoping to get some feedback on what I'm doing wrong. The Subject line kinda' says it all.

I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and have been quite jazzed by how easy all these instructional videos make it seem. I converted to a DE safety razor about six years ago and love it! I love the badger brush, the fantastic shaving creams, the balms, etc. I've been curious about straight razors for quite some time, but have to admit, they're a bit frightening. For Christmas, my wife sprung about $150 on a Feather Artist Series DX razor for me with a set of Feather Pro blades. After watching all these videos and spending time practicing the motions with NO blade, I was ready to go.

My first pass was the right cheek, since I'm right handed. I stretched the skin by grabbing my sideburn with my left hand and applied my first stroke applying a very light touch. Not bad... Did a few more, leading to my jaw, and was doing well. Then I went up to the top of the cheek and exerienced my first cut, and it was a bad one. It's been 14 days, and it's almost healed. Okay... I remember my first shave with the DE razor, and I was pretty much a bloody mess at the end. Now I get a great shave. So I ignored the blood streaming down my face and continued. Bad idea.

I took a shower before the shave and applied a hot washcloth first, so my beard was soft. I know how important this is with DE shaving. My cream was Taylor of Old Bond Street. After two shaves so far that have left my face a bloody, raw mess, I'll explain the problems I'm facing.

Chin: When I apply the blade to my chin, it catches on the hair and bounces off, leaving a cut when it bounces back on my face. I barely can do downward strokes, and upward strokes are downright dangerous! Angled strokes are also a problem. How does anyone do this?

Mandible (jaw bone below the cheek): I have chiseled features, so it's a sharp angle here. I'm having trouble figuring out how the flow the blade down from the cheek, over this sharp angle, to below the mandible. Again, upward strokes and angled strokes create nasty bleeding.

Below the nose: Far too dangerous for me to try and get a close shave right below the nostril doing a downward stroke, since the blade would have to be applied straight on. So I have to do it with upward strokes. Upward strokes on the upper lip give me bleeding and razor rash. Again, the blade catches and bounces off.

Neck: This is a friendly area, since it's pretty flat, so downward strokes are pretty good, but I'm not able to get a baby-butt smooth finish without lots of passes from an upward angle, giving me horrible razor rash. Also, the Adam's apple is a challenge I need to figure out. Mine protrudes prominently.

Blindness: I'm blind in my left eye, so using my left hand, I can't see the blade when shaving part of my cheek. So I have to use my right hand for almost everything.

Maybe my mistakes are 1) trying to get a baby-butt shave on my first tries and 2) perhaps the Feather Professional is just too aggressive for me? To test this, I ordered the Feather Soft Guard blades as training wheels.

These two shaves have left my face with a whole ton of cuts and red rashes. So much so, my wife shockingly asked, "What the hell happened?!" I've also cancelled all social engagements and avoided going out in public until this heals. It's been five days since the second try, and I'm almost ready to try again. The Feather Soft Touch blades arrived today, but before giving it another go, I thought I'd find a forum to consult and see what advice other users have.

One thing I keep in mind. I've been to many barbers who have given me a truly amazing shave using a straight razor, so I know it can be done on my face. I'm just super frustrated because I honestly have no idea how to do it. All the YouTube videos I've watched haven't been helpful at ensuring I get that fantastic shave.

All constructive advice is very much appreciated!