Like the title says. I have been trying really hard to apply a lot of the various tips you gents have offered me and it seems to be helping. I have not been able to do a clean up pass prior to my last two shaves. As a matter of fact two passes was it. If the blade touched my face again it was instant fire. Now however I can't actually do a clean up pass which makes me very happy. Not getting all the hairs just yet, but then again I'm not worried about it either. I have been experimenting with different stretching and finding what works and what doesn't. I'm feeling much more confident with the blade in my hands. I still do and always will respect the fact that I have an extremely sharp blade in my hands. My left hand is finally starting to cooperate with me more, it doesn't feel as strange to shave with my left now. Now these are baby step improvements. My excitement is just for the fact that there are actual improvements going on. Again my shave have not really been all that bad. Heck cartridge razors gave me way more irritation than my worst shave with a straight so far. I am really in this for the long haul. I just purchased my second straight razor. Thought two would be good incase I dull one (well thats the excuse I'm using). I bought a Boker Edelweiss from The Superior Shave. They were not my first choice of places to order from. SRD was obviously my first choice, West Coast Shaving second, and TSS last. Anyways sorry for the long tangent. Thank you all for your words of advice. I will share my thoughts on the edelweiss once I have received it.