Hello there boys, this is my first post, I am looking forward to learn a lot from you in the following months.

I have a Mühle hollow ground black 5/8 razor, two cakes of Col. Conk shave soap (lime and almond), a Mühle badger brush, a regular mug, an incredibly inconvinient two inch strop and of course a styptic pencil. I am an absolute beginner, just shaved with my razor for the second time moments ago, getting a kick out of the "My face was mauled by a bear and is clean shaven" look.

I know all the basic stuff like leaving the razor in the bathroom is a nono, start by adding little water and as you go add more, stretching the skin, have a bath or a hot wet towel on your face before shaving, doing an "x" pattern when stroping and those kinds of things all newbies find out about.

I would GREATLY appreciate any general advice you can give me, and, of course, this is a forum, so those "must read" links, particularly interested in those dealing with stropping and rust spots removal, but anything helpful in general will be greatly appreciated. I may end up embracing the spots anyway though, those things tend to grow on me, besides they don't disturb the razor's main function.

Also, this may sound like a dumb question, but does "practice make perfect" really apply whenever dealing with straight edge razors? I am willing to spend as much time as it takes to learn to do it properly, I just do not want to waste my time "practicing" when I don't really know if I'm doing it exactly right. Links regarding that would be lovely as-well.

Thank you for everything in advance.