So I decided to take the plunge into safety razors after toying around with the idea for a year or so. Being that I have to shave every day (Marine Corps) I got tired of the irritation caused by my trusty old mach 3. I opted for lee's starter set with a Merkur 34C, Vulfix 660 super, Trumper Lime soap, and Derbys. After that purchase I went ahead and got a sampler pack off amazon of blades and some Tabac cream and AOS sandlewood cream. Once I received my items today I went with the ease (from what I understand) of a cream and used the AOS along with a gillete 7 o'clock blue as I had read they were quite smooth and that's what I was looking for my first shave. A decent lather (according to mantic59's videos), three passes (with,across, and against), and a few nicks and weepers later I was done. The irritation I got from this shave was more than I've ever experienced with my mach 3, but I understand it was my first time and just like my first time shaving it takes time to build technique. I'm thinking the 7 o'clock might have been a little too aggressive for my first shave and might ditch it for the merkur blade that came with the razor. Anyways, thought I would just check in on the board and do some more reading. Thanks guys