Well, last night I tried to shave for the first time with a Straight and failed. Couldn't do it. I have a 2-3 week beard, but planned on only shaving the neck area. Soon as I put the razor to the skin, it just wouldn't move. Felt it grab, scared to put pressure on the blade and decided to hang it up for the night. I'm not sure if it would have made any difference, but I was using regular shaving cream with no shaving brush. I'm waiting for my brush to come in the mail (hopefully this weekend).