I'm very much a noob, but gratifyingly, I've found I'm at a point where (apart from the odd slip and a dash of claret) my shaves seem to be improving.
I had to hone my razor from scratch because it came brand spanking from the factory.
This (embarrassingly) took me a few days of going back and forth between strop and hone.
I guess the only real benefit here (apart from practice) was that I learned what worked for me and what seemed not to.
Basic trial and error really.
For ME, the biggest "eureka" moments came when I...
- learned that I prefer a canvas strop to a leather one
-discovered the "hair" test to determine shave readiness
-learned that lighter is better when stropping (to a point no pun intended)
-learned to make a decent lather
-discovered that while I was learning to sharpen a blade, multiple passes would achieve little other than to leave me looking and no doubt feeling, like Freddy Krueger.
-learned to map (and shave with) the contours of my face in such a way as to remove maximum whisker without abrading (or outrightly slicing) skin.

Don't worry mate, I'm convinced no one learns to be proficient with a straight razor without feeling like they lost a dust up with a cheese grater at least once.