Hi all, new SR shaver from NY here. I previously used cartridge razors and a Braun Series 7 electric shaver.

I started shaving on a cartridge razor as a teen, and moved to an electric at 30 years old, because I was tired of the insane irritation after a 2-pass shaving session. The electric razor gave me less irritation, but not a baby smooth face.

I decided to move back to the multi-blade cartridges recently, and improved my routine enough to get a baby smooth shave with no irritation at all. Shaving became enjoyable for the first time in my life, and I decided to take my new-found appreciation to the next level. I received my first SR this past Saturday - a Thiers Issard 1937 Special Coiffeur, from SRD.com.

Being very eager to experience my first SR shave, I stropped the blade (my first strop, as well) and went for it. I took my time to get a 20-30 degree angle, and get comfortable with putting a SR to my face, but I quickly grew comfortable. With my new-found confidence, and against all advice, I decided to shave my entire face. It took me about an hour to do WTG and ATG passes, but it went better than I expected. Two light nicks! But MAN, my face was on fire!!! I never had such razor burn.

This morning, excited to continue learning the art of the SR shave, I went for another 2-pass shave. As I was stropping my blade, I lost focus on the finishing side and stopped briefly. Not realizing the position of the blade, I began to strop again. I had lead with the edge of my blade and made two small gouges in the leather. Not a good start to my morning. I had done 40-50 passes already so I stopped and decided to begin my shave. The shave was terrible. I couldn't get a close shave no matter what direction I ran the blade. I spent another hour shaving and had even worse irritation today. In the history of shaving, I have never had razor bumps - until today. I nicked myself just twice again, but it was nothing compared to the irritation. Boy, my face burned real bad!

Today, I learned three important lessons:

- Give 100% focus to what you're doing when that SR is in your hand.
- Go slow.
- Don't allow emotion to cloud your judgement, even with a simple shave routine. Follow the advice of experienced shavers, as you may quite possibly ruin your experience and your desire to master this skill.

That's my story so far.

I just want to add that, despite my previous disregard for advice, I have a ton respect for the members of this community. I deeply admire how welcoming, benevolent, and helpful many members are - which is rare on the Internet! I look forward to getting to know more of you, and one day helping fellow SR enthusiasts.