Honestly I only made it to about 2nd base. Gave it a whirl with my straight for the first time tonight. Shaved after a good hot shower and since my supplies are limited I used my Headslick cream that I have been using to shave my head and face for years. Did pretty well WTG on the sides of my face and a good portion of my neck but stayed away from trying the rest. Only one very minor nick and that was from touching the blade to my cheek at almost a 90 degree angle for some odd reason. Quit bleeding in just a couple minutes and now it's not visible at all. Rinsed, dried, and WD40'd my razor. I enjoyed the experience and I'm looking forward to going at it again Thursday!

One question I have - how long should I be able to shave with this newly honed and ready to go razor (purchased from Holli4pirating) before I need to invest in a strop? I am thinking about buying the SRD model that runs about $50 but I wanna see how I do with around 4-5 more attempts before spending more money. I guess when it tugs and gets real uncomfy I'll know?

Thanks to all for the guidance so far!