Thanks for all the responses.

I had the best shave yet last night tho it appears my neck will be an issue for a while. Used kyle's prep and the vanden hagen soap. Used the SR only and the witch-hazel after. Without thinking about the time at all, it "only" took about 55 minutes. I guess it really is all about practice.

I'm now using some kind of facial lotion my wife has for in the mornings, still haven't obtained any aftershave specific balm.

re: slick skin - I don't have an alum block, but I ended up grabbing a washcloth and using that. It helped a lot it just removes a bunch of lather before the SR can

It has been said on here ad naseum but I feel it bears repeating for the other newbies like me: skin stretching is important!

Geoffrey