Hi all,

Well I thought I was ready to give it a try this morning. Did all my usual prep, and thought I will just do the sideburn area to start off slow. I paid very close attention to the angle and pressure but it felt like I was scraping the side of my face with a sharp rock. I tried it on both sides but it just wasn't cutting easily at all, the blade dragged and scratched/scraped the whiskers off. So, I stopped and re-lathered and shaved with my DE ( which, ironically, ended up being one of the best shaves I've had since I started using a DE razor).

I was given the razor as "shave ready", and please understand that I am not complaining as it was a very generous PIF and it has encouraged me to give this a try.

Is it possible that it just needs to be stropped? I don't own a strop, therefore I didn't strop the razor before trying it this morning. Should it shave as comfortably as using the DE or does it feel rough the first time?
I'd like to give it another try, I assume I am going to have to purchase a strop and try again. Can someone offer a suggestion for a good beginner's strop and where to get it?

Thanks for any and all help!