I've loved the idea of a straight razor ever since I started shaving. They were always so expensive that I just continued to pay out the nose for cartridges.

For Christmas my wonderful wife brought me a brand new straight razor and a honing kit. I read a few instructions online and tried to shave for the first time. I did not hone, as I had read that most new razors come pre-honed.

Once I started to shave, the razor essentially didn't cut anything. No matter what angle I tried, and how much pressure I applied I only got a few hairs pulled out (or so it felt).

I assumed that the razor wasn't honed. So I spent the day learning about honing and watching youtubes. I honed on my whetstone for around 70 passes in each direction. Stroped, and tried shaving again.

Second shave felt exactly like the first.

I'm rather disappointed, and I'm sure it is something I'm doing wrong. My face can handle a good amount of pain, but regardless of angles or pressure that blade is not cutting.

My razor: Dovo Solingen
Whetstone: weiwei #8000
Cream: The body shop for men maca root shave cream

honing:
keep stone wet with water
place the blade flat on the stone
slide blade toward sharp side, ensuring that all parts of the edge are touching stone
turn blade over
slide toward the sharp side
repeat a lot
strop on linen then leather

Shave:
start with the hair, flat against my face
increase the blade angle trying to feel anything like the barber's shave I had a couple days ago
once that failed, I repeated the process AGAINST the grain and still no real cutting action.

HELP