Ok so I baoght a new razor, my first, from Classic shaving and it arrived yesterday. A Dovo that they listed as "pre-sharpened". So I wanted to test it out as soon as possible of course. I showered first to get my skin nice and warm then put on a layer of shaving soap with the brush. I cleaned the razor with rubbing alcohol to get the oil that they had put on it off then used the Strop as I was told to do, I only used the leather side. After cleaning and stroping I put on another layer of shaving soap since the first had started to go away and then I proceeded to shave my sideburns. Now I'm not sure if up to this point I've done anything wrong but I gotta say that either the razor isn't that sharp or I didn't do the prep work right cause it felt like I was pulling my hair out. I tried various angles and got the same feeling every time. I kept re-lathering thinking it was a lubrication problem but that didn't help. After doing my side burns I pulled out the Mach5 and finished the rest of my face. I have to say that the most enjoyable part of that shave was putting on the soap cause the shaving part didn't feel all that good. If anyone has any advice please help me, I'm not going to give up on this lifestyle choice just because of one shave. Should I hone the razor myself? Do the people that sharpen Classic Shaving razors know what they're doing? Did I do the prep work wrong? Help a newbie out. Thanks for your time and advice.