Technique or Razor Edge? The beginner's dilemma.
So I ran into a little hitch when I began my adventures with straight razor shaving. I wasn't certain it would be something I'd enjoy, or even really develop any sort of attachment to but obviously I've found I'm very excited to develop this skill set. I read up on straight razors for about two or three weeks before making any sort of purchase and decided not to pour too much money into it at the start, I can always shell out a couple of hundred on a beautiful razor if it pans out that I want to down the road.
With that in mind I read a number of reviews and watched a few YouTube videos regarding the Gold Dollar razors and thought to myself it seemed like a good, inexpensive investment and ordered an introductory kit from StraightRazors.com for myself including a pre-honed and shave ready Gold Dollar, Blades Grim soap, synthetic brush, and strop. Everything seemed to arrive in good order. The blade was oiled and neatly wrapped. The soap smells amazing and I cannot begin to describe how much an improvement the lather is from shaving gels in a can. I'm sure a lot of people here already understand the feeling though. I quickly examined my loot and then took to the sofa to read up on the information it came with.
I'd already read and watched a number of guides about shaving with a straight razor, and after getting familiar with the included info I went to the bathroom and got ready to try it out. I stuck to the sideburns and walked away without a scratch (woohoo!) and felt rather accomplished, even though the shave wasn't as close as I was used to with cartridge blades. I kept it up over a few days, practicing with both my left and right hands. I always made sure I stropped the blade before each shave also, doing ten full laps on the fabric before doing twenty five to thirty laps on the leather.
My problem though is I'm not fully convinced my blade is actually very sharp. I know many beginners have this problem of edge vs technique, but I wanted to describe what is going on to see if I should either a) Send it back for another sharpen and hone (the deal came with a lifetime service!), b) Invest in a whetstone (the Norton 4k/8k combo), or c) Continue to practice my terrible technique.
What I'm experiencing is a lot of tugging from the blade on my facial hair. Sometimes it is even just to start a stroke as it snags and catches, and after each shave I'm finding that I am not getting a smooth shave at all. Even if I take the time to go with the grain, across the grain, and then even against the grain I still have a lot of stubble. Not only that but it causes a great deal of irritation on my skin also, and I've read over and over how smooth the shave is (incomparable to cartridges) and that your skin should not feel irritation.
A few things about my technique: I'm careful about my angle with the blade. I go slowly and ensure that I do not flatten out, nor come up to high. I understand about 30 degrees between my face and the blade is ideal. I also use very light strokes. I don't apply pressure on the blade to push it into my skin, I rest the edge on my face and then glide it down and let the blade do the work. I also apply a generous wet lather of soap.
Am I missing something key with my technique or should I look into re-honing the edge? I appreciate any help you can give, and also thank you for reading the wall of text!