I don't shave that regularly so when I do I am usually dealing with a week or two's growth, and my stubble is particularly coarse. I had been struggling and was started to doubt if my investment in my Theirs Issard straight and all the associated kit had been worth it. Finally I realised what was wrong.

The razor, despite extensive use of the strop before each shave, just wasn't sharp enough. I applied some abrasive paste to the rough back side of the stop and gave the razor a go on that before finishing on the smooth side of my strop, which has never been treated. It transformed the whole shaving experience. I have now sharpened it more still and am now achieving really quite a good full face shave.

I have also installed a good shaving mirror next to my basin . This, with my reading glasses on, gives me much better view of what is going on, especially under the nose and round the mouth.