OK , bought a Dovo Bismark and all the goodies from Vintage Blades. Did my first straight razor shave today and my face feels like I need to call the fire department - LOL. I really didn't cut myself too much, the odd nick that stopped bleeding in a few seconds so just slightly more damage than I could do if I tried with my Gillette Fusion. First off though, I loved my Gilette Fusion and thought I got baby smotth shaves even though my beard grows pretty quick. However, the appeal of a straight razor made me try and switch. The sideburn area which I did forst seemed like a piece of cake but it surprised me in how uncomfortable the shave was in terms of it felt like it wasn't cutting the hair easily and was tuggih regardless of what ange I had it at. I certainly wasn't at 45 degrees and was aiming for the 30 degree mark throughout but even that hurt. The only time it didn't hurt was when I had it closer to 15 or 20 degrees but that just wasn't cutting at all. So 30 degrees cut the best but it also felt like I took a layer of skin off of my face. I prepped my beard super good and the blade came "Shave ready" and was sharpened by Lynn Abrams. So what the heck am I doing wrong? I certainly do not expect to be perfect out of the gate but why is my face so sore even if I never cut myself and why did the razor feel like it was ripping the hair as opposed to nicely cutting like my Gilette Fusion. My Gilette I could rip across my face and barely notice it. The straight razor even with no to minimal pressure regardless of the angle was painful???? I am not giving up but I certainly have to give my face a couple days to regenerate - LOL