To start with can I just say a huge "Thank you" to Joel for his interactive guide and to the rest of you for the pointers and advice (either directly, or to other peoples threads). This...together with a big helping of luck...has saved me from carnage on my first straight shave! 
My last shave was with a Tech on Friday night so I had a decent amount of stubble to clear, with hind-sight it might have been easier to have shaved on Saturday as well.
I used my freshly honed vintage French 4/8, until today I've only used a blunt 6/8 to try a few practice strokes and to figure out my grip.
I didn't want to risk the edge by stropping (badly) before I'd even started, so I just gave the blade a quick spritz of alcohol and wiped it down with some tissue paper. This might have had the added benefit of acting as a sacrificial offering to the shave-gods!
I'd lathered up with a nice thick cushion of MWF (my soap of choice). However, my first 2 strokes (sideboard downwards) felt a bit "sticky" so I rinsed off and reworked the lather with a bit more water than I've been using with DE's. This time the cut felt smoother!
It might be a side-effect of the "small" blade of the 4/8 but it felt quite easy to manouever, especially along my top lip.
I rinsed the blade frequently, usually after a couple of strokes. Taking care to avoid the tap!
For my cheeks I did one N-S WTG pass followed by a nose to ear XTG. I was a bit hesitant about approaching my neck with such a sharp, exposed blade
However, by starting at the point of my chin and working downwards (WTG) I managed a relatively decent pass. On my second stroke here I got my one and only actual cut...about 2mm long, didn't bleed a lot and the styptic pen stopped it cleanly. As a total newbie to straights my grip was inevitably not great, so I was able to switch hands quite easily
I had expected trouble on the sides of my neck, and got it. Finding the angle, without slicing my earlobes or Adam's apple, was tricky so I only managed a "sort of" XTG here. If I had to wear a collar and tie for work tomorrow I'd have needed to go over this area with a DE to clear the stubble.
I finished off by stropping the blade (20 laps), on my Red Latigo. Dried everything off (including between scales) with tissue paper, put the razor away safely...I'm using an old sunglasses case to store it in and then unlocked the bathroom door!
A warm rinse followed by a cold face cloth and a quick spritz of Witch Hazel to finish.
Overall, a pretty good result....whilst not a DFS by any stretch of the imagination, it was a generally clean, fairly close shave
Two small weepers (one on my neck and one at corner of my mouth) and the aforementioned nick on my chin.
I wouldn't shave with a straight if I was in a hurry (yet), but I'll definitely be keeping with it in the future. I'll probably stick with my DE's during the week (love them too much to give them up) and keep the straights for the weekend!
So again, thanks to you all for the help and advice!!
My last shave was with a Tech on Friday night so I had a decent amount of stubble to clear, with hind-sight it might have been easier to have shaved on Saturday as well.
I used my freshly honed vintage French 4/8, until today I've only used a blunt 6/8 to try a few practice strokes and to figure out my grip.
I didn't want to risk the edge by stropping (badly) before I'd even started, so I just gave the blade a quick spritz of alcohol and wiped it down with some tissue paper. This might have had the added benefit of acting as a sacrificial offering to the shave-gods!
I'd lathered up with a nice thick cushion of MWF (my soap of choice). However, my first 2 strokes (sideboard downwards) felt a bit "sticky" so I rinsed off and reworked the lather with a bit more water than I've been using with DE's. This time the cut felt smoother!
It might be a side-effect of the "small" blade of the 4/8 but it felt quite easy to manouever, especially along my top lip.
I rinsed the blade frequently, usually after a couple of strokes. Taking care to avoid the tap!
For my cheeks I did one N-S WTG pass followed by a nose to ear XTG. I was a bit hesitant about approaching my neck with such a sharp, exposed blade
However, by starting at the point of my chin and working downwards (WTG) I managed a relatively decent pass. On my second stroke here I got my one and only actual cut...about 2mm long, didn't bleed a lot and the styptic pen stopped it cleanly. As a total newbie to straights my grip was inevitably not great, so I was able to switch hands quite easily I had expected trouble on the sides of my neck, and got it. Finding the angle, without slicing my earlobes or Adam's apple, was tricky so I only managed a "sort of" XTG here. If I had to wear a collar and tie for work tomorrow I'd have needed to go over this area with a DE to clear the stubble.
I finished off by stropping the blade (20 laps), on my Red Latigo. Dried everything off (including between scales) with tissue paper, put the razor away safely...I'm using an old sunglasses case to store it in and then unlocked the bathroom door!
A warm rinse followed by a cold face cloth and a quick spritz of Witch Hazel to finish.
Overall, a pretty good result....whilst not a DFS by any stretch of the imagination, it was a generally clean, fairly close shave
Two small weepers (one on my neck and one at corner of my mouth) and the aforementioned nick on my chin.
I wouldn't shave with a straight if I was in a hurry (yet), but I'll definitely be keeping with it in the future. I'll probably stick with my DE's during the week (love them too much to give them up) and keep the straights for the weekend!
So again, thanks to you all for the help and advice!!
A few rough patches, so my strokes obviously weren't as even as they felt at the time. I'm guessing that the blade needs to take more of the credit than my technique...so thanks again to Steve at The Invisible Edge for the honing! 
