First of all, thanks for all the great info I have read so far. My beard grows thick and fast. For the past 5 or 6 years I have been using Mach 3 and Mach 3 Turbos with various readily available shave creams, after shaves, and pre shave treatments. I usually get three to four shaves before i replace the cartridge due to dullness. My face is also quite sensitive. If i attempt to shave daily, my face gets very irritated. For best results, I usually go two to three days between shaves.

I have been hearing of the benefits of straigh shaving for a while now (due to the wonderful internet) and finally made the commitment to try it. I bought a kit form Vintage Blades with a 6/8 DOVO, strop, glycerin soap, and brush. The razor came "shave ready from Lynn Abrams no stropping necessary". I have no doubt as to the razors sharpness. It clearly passed the HHT and popped hairs effortlessly on my forearm. The first shave was about what i expected having read a good bit on this forum. It was not terribly uncomfortable and I did not cut myself. I was careful not to apply too much attention and keep a proper (20-30 degrees) angle. While no irritation occurred, it was a terrible shave, not close at all. The next few shaves got better, but still did not come close to comparing to the shave of a Mach 3.

Obviously I need to work on stropping technique. Also, I need to have my razor rehoned. First, my stropping is less than perfect and second, my clumsy self hit the faucet with my razor resulting in two nice dents in the edge of the razor.

Also, my beard does not consistently grow along on grain. There are spots on my neck where it grows in a spiral. This makes it difficult to get full WTG passes.

Due to the fact that i have not cut myself or irritated myself, I think i have acceptable technique, at least for a beginner. I am confident that at least for my first few shave I had a properly sharpened razor.
My questions are these:
Should i look for a larger or possibly wedge razor? The 6/8 hollow ground razor feels light and fragile.

How important is soap and lather? I have managed to work up what seems to be a nice thick lather. However it does not seem to have great lubricating properties. What is the actual function of the lather? Lubrication or softening of the beard? The blade does not effortlessly slide across my face. It grabs hold of the beard, and even with a relaxed angle and little pressure perpendicular to the plane of my face, it takes significant effort to cut through my beard.


Thanks everyone for the great forum!