My last couple of shaves with hot water were certainly less than what should be expected from a straight razor shave. The first time I used the razor I honed and it was not the most pleasant shave one could have, my face was red and sore afterwards. Thank that my razor just wasn't sharp enough u used the professionally honed razor that I had, to my surprise this shave was even worse than my first one, I assume it was because I had a few bumps on my face and it was still a bit tender from the first shave. Not wanting to give up on straight razor shaving I rehoned my razor and got it as sharp as I could and went to go shave one more time. This time however, I used cold water instead of hot water and the results were completely different than my first two shaves. My face felt fine afterwards and the shave was pretty close. I think know that from this day forward I will shave with cold water.