Well.. a few weeks back, I purchased my first straight razor from zeepk.com (Zeepk Straight Razor first Quality carbon steel). I've watched many videos on YouTube about stropping and about the shaving technique, so I was all ready to go (but a little nervous). When I finally got out of the shower and went for my first shave, I found that the razor did not cut me once! While this should be gratifying enough, given the old reaction you get when you mention shaving with a straight razor, I was disappointed to find that my shave wasn't very close at all.

My second attempt yeilded some better results, but I was still left feeling quite scratchy. Both times I was forced to finish up with my Mach3 in order to get my face as smooth as it normally is. I've been told by barbers before that my facial hair is like iron... but I expected that a newly stropped razor would be able to get the job done. I know that my technique is still developing and that my angle might be off, but I'm seriously surprised at how not-close my shave is with the razor. Even going over my face 2 or 3 times, going different directions.

Am I missing something? Advice would be appreciated!!