Well, i jsut finished my first full, 3 pass straight shave!
It's not exactly BBS, and it's not exactly irritation free, but compared to the first two "one-passes" I tried, it's a HUGE improvement! I nicked myself a couple of times--I got a really good one just under my nostril...how the heck are you supposed to shave there??!!!?--but nothing dreadful. Didn't even need a styptic.
I have a touch of razor burn on my upper lip, but again, nothing like before. Yay!
I put this success to two things: the advice you guys gave me on adjusting my angle, and stropping improvements. I have been practicing my stropping, and am getting just a touch faster. And tonight, stropping my Kropp before the shave, I finally got that feeling of "draw" that people talk about. The blade felt sticky...and I thought "Hmmmm....This seems promising."
Thanks for your help, and thanks for the advice, and thanks for reading.
Cheers!
Jim