Hello. A month or so ago I decided to try a straight razor just for giggles. I watched a few videos, read some reviews, and placed my order.

I ordered a low cost kit with a supposedly shave ready gold dollar razor, synthetic strop, soap, etc.

I have learned a great deal about technique, I have not destroyed my strop, and I have not sliced my face off. I have created my own blend of a pre-shave oil that helps immensely, and I genuinely enjoy using my straight razor. My biggest question is one of shave closeness. It seems no matter what I do with the straight razor, I can get a closer shave with a well worn safety razor, such as a Mach 5.

I know it is a poor craftsman who blames his tools, but I have to wonder if they may be the problem. Having never used a "good" straight razor I have nothing to compare it to. What I do know is that everybody says a straight razor is supposed to be the closest shave you can get, but for me that is most certainly not the case. Is the combination of low cost blade, mediocre honing, and poor quality synthetic strop stacking the deck against me, or does my technique really suck that bad? I feel like I get a lot of drag attempting to go against the grain, causing the razor to want to pull rather than cut, and possibly skip which doesn't seem so hot. My gut tells me this is a sharpness issue.

I thought about investing in a good honing stone and a quality leather strop. I'm not opposed to buying a better blade but I hate to spend a whole lot if I am doomed to suck. I figure a good blade with a crappy strop will quickly become a crappy blade, whereas a quality stone and strop would still be useful after I upgrade blades.

Thoughts?