8 months for a beginner from a beginner.

I have really enjoyed my new hobby over the last 8 months.
My advice for newbies from a newbie:

• Search this web site because a lot of great advice is just a click away.
  
• Get acquainted with your local barber they can give great advice and help. I started the conversation about straight razor shaving with mine and his face lit up and now when I go there we always have something in common to talk about. He gave me an old straight and 1960's sharpening stone to hone my honing skills on and turned me onto witch hazel. After my first shaves my face and neck were lit up with red and scarring razor burns and his advice about witch hazel helped me during my learning curve.
  
• When I tell most of my acquaintances that I use a straight they look at me like I have 10 eyeballs, but don't let it deter you because I brought it up with one of my sales reps and he ended up getting one from his wife for Christmas. I spoke with him last week and he just smiled and said he really liked it and it reminded him of his dad using a straight and it brought back good memories for him.
  
• If you can afford it try to not buy the cheapest straight or a straight with a plastic spine and make sure it is truly shave ready. I bought one from Art of Shaving store near me and because of lack of experience broke the spine at the pivot screw, probably from too much pressure when using the strop. Luckily they let me pay more and upgrade to another model. Also don't believe shave ready when you read it. The first razor was $110 and since I didn't know better I thought it was shave ready, but after my upgrade I now know what shave ready is. Again I could have screwed up the edge with my strop technique with the first, but when you shave with a shave ready razor its like a dream come true. You can use a lighter touch and get a better shave. I wish I had sent my razor off to one of merchants on this board to have the original honed correctly, but I felt leery about sending a new $100 razor to someone in the mail. Again lesson learned.
• Shaving cream or soap? That is the question. I've had much better shaves with creams, than soaps so the jury is still out for me. The soap I purchased was handmade from a vendor at a local farmers market so it could be the soap or again me. I am not sure. The problem I have with soap is the lather dies quickly and I've tried for over two months with different techniques, youtube videos, and blogs. The shave are not as consistent for me and the cream was much easier to use for a beginner. My quest will go on, because I have read countless threads from users who use soap exclusively and love it. Also soaps will last longer than the creams so the miser in me wants to find an answer.
  
• You don't have to break the bank to get a great shave. I do suggest as I stated earlier get a really good razor. The rest of the items you can cheat on and do fine. I bought a $10 Tweezerman brand brush, and $25 Russian strop and they have worked just fine. Also a $2 bottle of witch hazel and olive of coconut oil can do wonders. The cream or soap debate is still up in the air for me and maybe some of the vets on here can give their advice on what they use when they don't want to spend money. It's easy to brag about the more expensive purchases, but for a newbie price does matter.
  
• Take your time and enjoy the shave. My worst nicks and cuts have always come from trying to rush a shave before work. Then I ended up having to shave around the scab for a week or so trying not to reopen the wound. After 8 months of shaving I thought I was an "expert" and learned my lesson the hard way. All I can say is thank God for my alum block.
  
• Lastly, if you have to cheat and use the cheap plastic handle disposables to clean up the tough spots, do it. No one will ever know.

That's some good advice! :)

Some things are true for everyone (i.e. there is nothing like a truly shave-ready edge, rushing is a bad idea, etc.), and others vary from person to person (the right soap/cream for you might not be the right one for me. Lots of personal preference and other factors such as skin characteristics, water chemistry, and brush type come into play...).

For good reliable soap/cream, I like Proraso and Body Shop Maca Root Cream. They are fairly accessible to lots of people and shouldn't break the bank. Lots of guys swear by Arko shave sticks too. I haven't used that yet, but it is a) very cheap, and b) well regarded.