I recently jumped into DE shaving because the quality of the Dorco cartridge blades I used to use went to shit and I figured DE will save me a good chunk of change in the long run. I got a Merkur 34C and picked up a bunch of blades from tryablade.com.

I was gifted an Aesop kit with synthetic brush, non-lathering shave serum, and post-shave lotion. I'm happy with the brush, and really like the lotion, but I (unfortunately) hate the serum. As a beginner, I find it hard to track exactly where I shaved to without a clear "lather line" so to speak, and it also feels like it dries out pretty quickly and loses lubrication on my face. I have to apply it to my face in sections as I shave, which makes the shaving process feel clunky. After doing some research, I somehow landed on Cremo as an alternative, and in retrospect I don't know how the hell that happened. It's also a no-lather cream. On top of that, I absolutely hated how it felt, and wasn't able to even finish my shave. It's either going in the garbage or I'll try to give it away.

Here are my overall questions, starting with one that's specifically related to the above issue:

1. I'm looking for a recommendation for a lathering soap or cream that is best when applied with a brush. My preference is for something I can find in retail stores (SF Bay Area).

2. Is the Merkur Mk34C asymmetric in blade exposure? I couldn't find anything by googling it. But I am 100% sure that one side shaves closer than the other. Am I missing some "centering" step when changing blades?

3. This might be hard to answer in a general manner, but I find certain areas ergonomically uncomfortable to shave. In particular, on the left side of my face (I'm righthanded), ATG and XTG can be awkward to still see what I'm doing. The discomfort is in my hand to hold the razor and move it across my face in a controlled way. Any tips?

4. The hair on my neck grows south-to-north and also lays against my skin very tight. I've found that skipping WTG and going straight to XTG or even a 45° angle that's ATG/XTG works reasonably well, but I don't get as close a shave as I would like on my neck without irritation. I've found some useful info about this by googling, but interested to see more tips.

5. This one's kind of weird, but for some reason I can't get a close shave under my chin, which is where I have the densest stubble. I can see that there's still stubble there and I can't get it smooth even with multiple XTG and ATG strokes. Maybe there's some weird shape to my skin there that I'm not noticing. But I play with the angle of the razor and even try a little more pressure, but I can't get any closer of a shave. I don't get irritation here.

Overall, I've been enjoying the switch despite some frustrations here and there. It also feels like it takes longer than I want it to, but I'm sure I'll get faster eventually. I haven't nicked myself much in about a month of DE shaving ~2x per week (nothing too bad), and irritation has been much worse with specific blades that don't work for me rather than overall technique.