First, because this is my first post, I want to say what a great forum this is. I did a lot of searching here, and I was pretty impressed. There are a lot of articulate, insightful and helpful people here, all of whom are linked solely by a love of shaving with a straight razor. That seems strange at first glance, but I suppose it sheds some light who you guys are, and it's a very favorable light.

I should also say that, in general, I don't like shaving. On vacation, for example, I won't shave until my beard gets itchy. Recently, (and I hope that this confession doesn't make me terribly unpopular here) I've been using a Braun electric to get the job done quickly.

So, I thought I would take a different tack. I decided that I wanted to make shaving as pleasurable as possible: not a task to either avoid or get through as quickly as possible, but rather something to enjoy, and perhaps even savor.

With this mindset, I bought Classic Shaving's "Pre-Sharpened" Straight Razor Set. It came with Lynn Abram's excellent DVD. I watched the DVD the night I got the set, and shaved the next morning, which was yesterday.

The good news is that I really didn't get any major cuts or nicks. A few drops of blood, but I didn't even reach for the styptic pencil.

The bad news is that I got some major razor burn. I took Lynn's advice seriously, and I also read it several times elsewhere here, to start with the cheeks. So my damage is confined.

But I also noticed that the hair wasn't being cut as easily as I was expecting. I played around with the angle, and at times got closer than 30 degrees to my cheek. It just never seemed to cut through my beard the way I was expecting. (I should add that my hair isn't particularly dense, and each hair isn't particularly thick.)

I think that the razor burn along with not cutting hair well indicates a dull razor. Although I've heard it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools.

Has anyone had any experience with this Classic Shaving kit? Is it as sharp as advertised?

I should also point out that perhaps my skin has gotten a little soft because I've been using an electric recently. I also didn't shower before my shave, but instead used lather and a hot, wet towel the same way that Lynn did in his DVD. I stropped about 20 times before shaving. Please let me know if there are any other details that could help you advise me.

So what exactly should I do? A thumbnail test to see how sharp the blade is? Get a loupe to examine the edge? Try it again? (That last one doesn't seem to be a good idea; nothing's changed since my last attempt, and I don't want to get discouraged.)

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance,

Matt