Hi Darren, welcome to the madness! Yes, there is a lot of information "out there" pertaining straight shaving. Right here is the best place to learn. Start with the general basic guidelines that you will read about here...read the beginners link. As you journey, you will tweak the methodology to your own personal preferences. When you strop, follow the basic guidelines. Eventually, you may put your own twist on the process. The same with honing, should you go that route. Once you become semi proficient at putting the blade to your face and shaving, you'll find that a well honed and stropped blade solves 90% of your problems. Stropping is VERY important, and something you will have to do on your own. Check out Gemstar Customs bench strop. A bench strop will take a lot of the guess work out for a beginner...how taut to hold it, at what angle, etc. Start out with a well honed blade from a reputable dealer, Straight Razor Designs, Gemstar Customs etc. You will have poor shaves in the beginning, but once you get straight shaving dialed in, there is nothing else like it. Sorry for the long post, but best of luck and enjoy the journey.