Thread: first shave was a little harsh..

well, i got my dovo 5/8" best quality from SRD.com yesterday, and since i was sick with a stomach bug, i waited until today to give myself my first shave. i hadn't shaved since sunday, and i have pretty coarse whiskers, so let me begin, and hopefully i'll get some quality answers. started out taking a shower, then proceeded to lather up(doesn't lather too well) my face with my wally world special "premium shave set" from a company named Van Der Hagen enterprises(www.vdhent.com), comes with a boars hair brush, soap, and a cup. i start to strop, using only the leather side, and ofcourse i nick it slightly a few times from when the razor hit the riveted handle and hanging riveted portion....but its all good, no deep gashes, very light pressure, and feeling the edge of the blade with my finger nail, i didn't roll the edge. so i start the shave and im actually a little suprised on the slight harshness i was feeling while doing some parts of my face. another thing is that i found myself holding the razor like its a knife a few times and although this felt more natural to me, i think i was getting a closer shave with the standard/basic grip. my questions are, do you feel the shave's harshness was due to the soap i was using or is this natural until i just get better at it? if its the soap, what's a reasonably priced soap that performs well? something i could buy locally is always a plus(baltimore, md). also, is there a reason the way your supposed to hold the razor, or is it just personal preference? i ask this because is i could get used to the basic grip, but if there is no benefit to it, i wont bother. thanks guys

ps: did i cut myself? damn straight(pun intended)