Does anyone else feel like they need to strop mid-shave?
Today I did my FIRST solely straight razor shave, with no DE touchups. For the past week, i have been slowly shaving more and more of my face withthe straight, as I get comfortable with it. Today, I did three full passes. W-X-A.
It's pretty good, nowhere near as good as I can get with a DE (though I know it will get there with practice). No blood, almost no irritation.

However, by the third pass, the blade was cutting noticeably less well. I had stropped thoroughly before the shave. My beard is pretty tough, but not fully wire-like. I was shaving with a Rup- sharpened DA. (Which started off the shave feeling much sharper and smoother than my first 'starter" razor that I got last week).
So, do I need a mid-shave strop?
Is my lather getting "old" maybe? Or perhaps the time out of the shower is letting my beard dry out and get tough again.