Thread: Newbie Problems

After a clownish beginning (cheap made in china ebay purchase, honed by a knife sharpener), I forked out the cash for a restored dubl duck from vintage blades shave-ready and honed by Lynn Abrams.

My first shave with the new blade still felt fairly rough, but I may just not be used to the way a straight shaves and need to work on my shave technique, pre-shave routine, lathering, etc. But, the new blade still doesn't pass the supposed hanging hair test (it only cuts a hair that's taught but doesn't cut a loose hair), even after 100 passes on the strop.

1. Could it be a dull blade despite its reputable origins?

2. My strop is a faux-leather from a company on Etsy called Roosevelt Grooming. On the up pass, the stropping surface doesn't seem as perfectly smooth as it feels on the down pass. Could my strop be screwing up my new blade? Should I try to sand it down with sandpaper?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post!