There is a learning curve..WIth str8s it is all about angles and technique..Everyone has something different to say. You have to find "your" way...Personnaly I hold the razor at a near 90 degree from my face..to be specefic it is around 82 degrees..I do not do a bunch of passes either..I do one pass and do mutiple strokes on one area..I think it is called "buffing"..I can shave as fast with a st8 as I can with a DE...The diff is I get razor burn with a DE..By the way I have been shaving with st8's for years and never learned the "proper" way to shave. I learned from watching my grandfather and trial and error..I think what saved me was wheen I started shaving I was a peach fuzzed boy.The emistakes I made (besides) slicing chunks of my face off were not noticable because I didn't have much hair to shave off...As I have gotten older my 5 oclock shadow is intense..Also, I just recentley started shaving with a DE Gillette fat boy and a Merkur 33c..I find them easy to shave with and get a very close shave in comparison to a Mach 3 or any cartridge razor that I have tried..So if st8's aren't for you, try DE's...Less learning curve with the same wet shaving satisfaction..