Welcome to the journey. And that is exactly what it is. There will be lots of razors to try and lots of technique to learn and lots of brushes to check out and a ton of creams and soaps to play with and lots of aftershaves. You're getting good recomendations here.
As your first razor I might suggest something that's not too expensive but a good shaver. For your first I would suggest a vintage Gillette Tech. They are all over eBay . If you get one that dates to before World War I you'll have yourself a nice razor that you'll end up keeping as part of your shave den forever. It will be made of brass so it will outlive you.
And as I think someone already said, you need to help your technique by figuring out what directions your hair grows on your face. They call that mapping your beard. This way when you do a With The Grain pass or Across the Grain or Against the Grain, you'll know you are really doing what you think you are doing. I didn't know to do that early on and when I read about doing that and mapped my beard, my shaves instantly got better.
As for technique, remember a couple of things. No pressure. What that means is you should not be using any pressure to press the razor against your face. Let the weight of the razor do the work for you. The reason this works is because you are using such a sharp blade, much sharper than any cart blade, that even if you don't think it could possibly doing anything without pressing, it most definitely is removing hair. And shaving with a double edge is all about gradual hair elimination. That's why we do multiple passes. Each pass is designed to remove a little more hair until your face is baby butt smooth. Also known as BBS. Another basic technique for the beginner is to focus on the angle of the razor to your face. You will want to do what's called ride the cap. What that means is hold the razor at such an angle as the top cap of the razor is the only thing touching your face. Slowly lower the angle so that the blade begins to just touch your face. Maintain that angle at first and eventually you will feel what angle works best for you.
So, no pressure and ride the cap. The other thing you want to learn is how to whip up some good lather with a brush. One approach that worked for me in the beginning was using creams at first. I start with an almond sized dollop of cream in a bowl. I use a brush that has soaked for a few minutes and I shake the excess water out (twice for natural hair brushes and three times for synthetic). Then start to swirl the brush around the bowl and create lather. Slowly add very small amounts of water until the consistency of your lather looks like yogurt, with soft peaks and a sheen on it. Then you are ready to work the lather into your beard with the brush. You'll figure it out pretty quickly.
And then you're shaving. Visit the forums when you have questions. You'll find the forums good for learning more about your technique as well as for enabling you for buying stuff. Ultimately, the only way you can know if a particular item works for you is if you try it. Fortunately if you buy vintage razors and do a little research before hand to know their value, if you end up with a razor that doesn't work for you, you can always resell it and get most, if not all, and sometimes more than you paid for it. Modern razors are a little trickier. There are razors made of zamak or pot metal, which is lower quality but could still last quite a long time. Then there are the stainless steel, brass, titanium razors that will last you forever. But they cost more. You'll learn all this stuff over time. Just focus on getting yourself one razor, a reasonable brush and some good shave cream.
Suggestions for the above besides the vintage Gillette Tech already mentioned is a Merkur 34C HD which is made of zamak. But it's a nice shaver and won't cost an arm and a leg. But if you can get the Tech, no need to run out and get the Merkur. I'd recommend a synthetic brush as your first since they dry out the quickest and if you shave every day, that will be a big benefit. I really like the RazoRock synthetic brushes. They perform nicely for not a lot of money. A good first brush might be the regular Plissoft or their Bruce (regular size, not the Big Bruce). You can use any bowl from your kitchen for building lather. A cereal bowl works really well. You probably want something that fits in the palm of your hand comfortably. As for creams, I started wtih Art of Shaving Sandalwood which was then followed by Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood. I'd recommend the TOBS because it's less expensive than AOS and performs well. And you're off. Good luck. And remember. It's supposed to be fun.
*BOSC*CEC*NDOG* Absurdity is the only reality... - FZ
