Hello, My name is Jordan, I'm 25, and I live in Austin, Tx. I'm completely new to straights.

First of all, to see how kind this forum has already been to me, check out this thread. Basically, I was given a pretty full kit by a member of this forum who decided to help out someone interested in straights but without the money to get started.

So I'll describe the first shave, and throw in a few questions.

The Kit:
Wm. Elliot full hollow
Tony Miller Starter Strop
Mama Bear's Ylang Ylang soap
Brush stamped "The Strand Brush, Made in England. Pure Badger"
A quality lotion aftershave that I already had in the apartment.

Tony (richardhead) told me both razors he sent were shave ready and would need just about 20 or so passes on the strop.

Getting home after a long hike, I filled the sink with hot water and set my brush in it. I gave the razor a few trial passes on the strop before hopping in the shower. My natural tendency was to want to pick it up, rotate my grip, and then set it back on the strop. I had to keep telling myself not to pick it up. Took a hot shower, got out, gave the razor 20 passes, then picked up the brush. For the lather I followed the directions on classic shaving's advice area, letting the water drain from the brush, but not shaking it, then moving it in a circular motion over the soap to pick up the soap in its dish. I lightly moved the brush in circles over my face until a lather started to build. How thick should a lather be? I saw my face go from pale where I had brushed the soap on, to a white foam, through which I could still see the whiskers, but which clearly covered the skin.

I picked up the razor and proceeded with a WTG pass on the cheeks. After a few experimentations with the angle, I started removing some of the hair from my cheeks. It went so well, I tried an XTG pass. When I reapplied the brush, it had gone cold (would this not had happened if I had created the lather in a mug and kept the mug and brush sitting in a little hot water?). That pass went so well I decided to try my neck. Suddenly I caught myself believing I was shaving with my Mach3. After the razor had moved maybe half an inch, I realized I was shaving ATG as I usually do with my Mach3. Flipped the blade around and started going down instead.

It all went fairly well without incident I had two little nicks up next to my left sideburn that didn't even really bleed. Oh, and at one point I forgot to rinse the blade clean before flipping it over, and with the lather filling the hollow of the blade, it stuck to my face. This was an issue I had not anticipated! Also afterwards, my face was burning! A little (ok, a lot)aftershave helped with this though.

Anyway, after it all, I'm happy with my cheeks, chin, and upper lip, all better than my Mach3. Just below my jawline and my neck is still rough, but looks good enough to make it until tomorrow.

A few quick questions:
1. I am incredibly right-handed, and have a slight tremor in my left. Is there anyone out there that shaves with one hand only that could offer some tips?
2. How should I go about drying my razors? Today it was wiping down with a paper towel, then storing vertically (closed). Are there any parts that I need to be especially careful to dry?
3. I was surprised by how much I could hear the razor passing over the face, is this a technique problem (wrong angle, too much/little pressure?) or is this normal?

Thanks all