Wildtim,
No matter what endeavor you undertake in life, there will be a learning curve. The cost is green and the school colors are black and blue. However, if it's worth doing and you want to do it, you keep trying and you will succeed. There's nothing magical about getting a straight razor shave. You start with a quality razor and a great edge, lather up, shave, and dry off. My suggestion: get a straight razor from someone on the forum, nothing fancy, just good steel. Strop it up on natural leather, lather up and shave. Keep the edge sharp as opposed to letting it get dull and then sharpening it. Do this by regularly touching up with an 8000.

If you get a nick in a straight razor edge, move down to a coarser stone such as a DMT 1200 to remove the steel back to a uniform edge. Using a 4000 finishing stone for steel removal is frustrating and doesn't work. Honing is a progressive process.

Howard