Until last week I shaved w/ a double edged blade - hated throwing the blades away and wanted something more. Now proud owner of a new Dovo. Out of the box (as promised) wouldn't really shave at all just pull like crazy. Now pround owner of new Norton 4K/8K stone and Ill stop. I've tried a couple of itterations of various honing pyramids and stopings then shaving- the shaving's got a bit better - its now like a dull cartridge shave - pulls a fair amount and leaves stuble in tougher spots - but the shave sure isn't great - or even good - I was hoping for so much more - I'm thinking I just haven't got the thing sharp enough yet - but I'm also worried about the over honed thing. The blade feels sharp to my thumb but not fantastically sharp. I really want to learn to do this as self reliance and skill aquisition is an important part of the whole straight razor deal for me. Any practical advise would be very helpful. I've read the stuff on the site and around the web and yet here I am.

The shaving bit seems to be going fine - I'm using the two handed approach and so far I look like I've actually shaved and my allum pencil is feeling left out.