Quote Originally Posted by ralphleon View Post
So I tried the dubious "hair test" this morning and my hair wasn't even fazed by the blade. It pretty much just bounced off the blade and then corrected its position once the blade had passed. So, it seems that my first try will be getting the blade re-honed and picking up some new soap. I did strop the blade 3-4 times (as in a set of times) but with at least some attention to the proper method (spine first, taught strop, no pressure). Is this enough stopping to securely screw the blade? Perhaps it was never honed well in the first place? The blade was a gift, and it had a "professionally honed by so-and-so" tag on it.

Does anyone have any suggestions for soap made from natural products? I suppose it's not that big of a deal seeming how the two natural soaps have irritated my face.

How many laps did you make on the strop those 3-4 times you stropped? I learned quicky that for me, 25-30 laps wasn't enough. I now do 80. 40 after the shave and 40 at night before bed so it's ready in the morning. That may decrease after my diamond paste for my paddle strop shows up, but on straight leather that's what I'm doing, and I'm hitting the chromium oxide on the rough side of the strop for10 to 15 laps every two shaves. (You guys with more experience, if I'm giving wrong advice, please correct me so I can refiine my technique...)