Again, I really want to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my first post and to offer suggestions. I was pretty frustrated when I made the post, after several bad initial shaves. Today I did a double pass shave with the straight razor, WTG on both passes, and I was very pleased with the results. I'm still "iffy" with my left hand and on my chin, but the results were acceptable and I didn't have to clean up with the DE razor. And again no cuts! I'm really taking my time and concentrating, and I'm using the suggestions that people made in their posts. It takes a long time (30 - 35 minutes from the time I start until I finish), so I don't see myself using a straight every day, but at least now I can envision a future time when I'll be reasonably proficient (and safe). Thanks again to all.