No need to be critical and no need for you to rush. If you are having some problems with 2nd and 3rd passes it may be stropping from what I can tell on your post. Either need more stropping, better stropping technique or if you do have a really rough beard you may need to strop between passes. All in all It sounds like you are doing fine, congratulations and dont let the learning curve(or a little blood) scare you, its just a matter of time and experience. Another thing, if you are going slow and taking your time you may need to do additional beard prep as the lather and beard tend to dry up in time. More hot water and lather or hot towel and lather may be needed to keep the whiskers supple and ready to cut.IMHO youre doing great, and I am sure in due time the others will show up to help. Keep it up and have fun!