Shaving hurts. It has always hurt, and still hurts when I am using a safety razor . You folks who have been shaving with a safety razor for years.. does it still hurt, or is it just my lack of masterful technique? I am ashamed to admit the skin on my neck itself is just not smooth, it is scarred to some degree from years of bad shaving, maybe this is my problem. Even shaving with the grain, which hardly even skims off the end of my stubble, hurts. It seems the blade just bypasses the stubble and goes directly to my skin! I have tried different blade angles, and none have come to a satisfactory level of comfort or functionality. I am hoping that I am just missing something here, maybe my classic brand (from classicshaving.com) shaving soap is the problem? I hot towel for three minutes prior to shaving, with as hot a towel as I can stand. I take my time, spending nearly an hour from start to finish. It just hurts, and causes irritation, and it is darn frustrating. I am in love with wet shaving, and I will not turn back, but I know I must be missing something. Thanks for your time.