Thread: need some serious help

Congratulations.

Yes, the problem with throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at it is that you get very educational value out of it because you still don't know what was the issue and how to solve it next time it happens.
On the other hand achieving great shave is a big morale boost and if you've done it once you know you can do it again

Preparation makes huge difference regardless of how you cut the hair afterwards. Unfortunately this is still largely underestimated by many people who chase the wrong things, the razor, the honing, the technique... If you want to check it out next time you do the same preparation and use your old cartridge razor, you may be surprised at the results.

Anyways, for the next time you go to your hone use very light strokes, and the goal is for the razor not to push the water but to undercut it. It is simple physics and surface tension is what makes possible the pushing of the water instead of breaking it. When your edge is thin and free of defects the it would 'undercut' the water.

You want to also consider that 'curl' to the strop. You want flat surface (slight slack is fine, but not cupped). Normally the edges are kept flat from the hardware, so I am not sure what curling is occurring there. I would suggest though to not ignore it and figure out what's happened and how to fix it. Pictures could help.