With my first straight shave in the books, I'd have to say that it's a good thing y'all set an expectation for a steep learning curve. Without it, I'd be back to my DE tomorrow. Since I don't expect perfection for a month or so, all in all, I'd say it was a pretty successful outing. The paramedics were not called, and I'm not writing this from the ER. All that said, I have identified two problem areas that I could use a little help with.
My razor is sticking a lot. I'm not sure if it's a sharpness issue or if I'm too timid. I bought the razor "shave ready" from an SRP member. I was under the impression that it did not need to be stropped for the first shave, so rather than subject the razor to what would likely be sub-standard stropping technique, I started in. Leveraging my DE experience, I held the blade lightly but firmly and attempted light even strokes. When the blade grabbed, I didn't force it, I worked with it. Ultimately, I was able to get a complete shave just slightly worse than I used to get with a cartridge, but it took a lot of cajoling. As I worked my way through it, the blade didn't really grab and pull (although I didn't really pull once it started grabbing). Once I got it cutting, it cut pretty well. Actually less pulling than my DE. I did take a break part way through and stropped the blade. It didn't really help, but being my first strop, I can't guarantee how effective it was.
My prep consists of lathering with soap from the shower (not my shave soap) in the shower. I leave the lather on for the duration of the shower then give my beard a good hot rinse. When I dry off from the shower, I leave my face wet until I shave. I even splash my face once or twice while I get ready to ensure it doesn't dry out.
My second problem is with my neck. My neck is fairly lean and I have a fairly prominent wind pipe. This gives me a pretty sizable valley between my windpipe and the muscles on the side of my neck. I never really learned how to flatten this area since my DE allowed me enough margin of error to work the razor in there. I tried a similar approach with my straight and ended up pushing the tip into my neck a bit. No flowing blood, but a good solid abrasion. Do I simply need to find a way to flatten this area (any suggestions) or as my technique improves, should I expect to be able to shave through this crevasse?
Any advice?