Thread: Is It The Blade, or Pilot Error?

I think you will get better results if you massage some shaving cream with water with your fingers on your face. I remember a youtube video from few years ago where a barber in turkey does just that. I tried it and it worked very well (I still did the brush afterwards). But I don't do it anymore as for me it's messier than shaving brush and I get really good results with just the brush.
Remember that you want lubrication and cushion on the skin and softening of the hairs (they absorb water and expand), so don't let whatever's on your face to dry out, it will not work well.
You will also get better results if your goal isn't absolutely smooth face. It's not a bad idea to do just one WTG pass and leave it at this. It'll still look very presentable, especially after your face dries, the hairs shrink and recede back a little. Irritation is bad, you can get that with any disposable razor, so no point of spending all this effort with a straight razor for the same result.