I've been at this straight thing for about a week and the learning curve has been substantial. Not impossible, it just takes some thinking and experimenting to get things right.

My first shave wasn't great. It wasn't bad either, it just wasn't one of those shaves that made me think "Damn that was a good shave."

Second and third shaves were better in terms of hair removal, but my face felt a bit rough after.

Then I figured out a few tricks:

1) Don't be shy with the lather. I have no problems re-lathering an area and going back over it. Doing this without lathering just hurts.

2) I played around a bit with how I held the razor. Gave me way more control.

3) Used a lighter touch than I thought I should be using. I tend to stand a little too close to the razor anyway so this helped. Lets the cutting edge do it's work.

4) Mange the edge. I've taken to starting out where my beard is toughest and the work is most delicate: around my mouth. This way, I'm starting with a sharper edge. Once this is done, I take a quick pass on my cheek to see whether I need to re-strop or not.

And finally, I've found that I get more confident each time I take the implement in hand. It's been said elsewhere but I'll say it again. It's like any other potentially dangerous implement (including a woman): it must be approached with confidence and respect. Do otherwise at your own peril.