Just to relate with what the others have already said. I just got a Dovo Special from SRD. My first shave with it was fantastic.But....at the end of the shave I was closing the blade and my fingers fumbled and (gasp of embarassment) I dropped it.It was closed but when it made contact it opened a little. I inspected it and saw no damage.Two days later I shaved with it and hacked my face to shredded wheat. I thought For sure I had messed that blade up and was depressed. So today I did all my stropping lathering etc. and took my time..lo and behold,the blade was fine and the shave went great. Thank god and at the same time realising my technique mistakes. I was told by one of the other more experienced members here that there will be ups and downs and they were right. I also remembered one of the other members having a qoute on their post which was somthing about a barber's advice on holding the blade to avoid nicks. Sorry guys ,I got bad memory sometimes on names. But the point I'm trying to make is this......Once I settled down on my grip and let the blade do it's work,I was fine. Don't get frustrated stick with it and have fun ,get to know your face and dont be afraid to experiment with different strokes.Every face is different I have learned,what's good for one may not be for the other...there will be ups and downs,that's okay. That's what makes shaving with straight steel so cool. It's an art that builds pride as opposed to the one night stand satisfaction of shaving with those modern implements of facial mowing. We all go through it as I have learned and it only gets better as I have been told and read so many times. Have a good shave m8te ! Hope my two cents was of worth, :tu