The smart money seems to be on the razors not being shave ready. This is certainly a possibly.

I read the HHT articles and redid the test. One razor scores a HHT 2 or 3 and the other scores a HHT-4. This is, of course, assuming that I did the test properly. I did go as slowly as I could and also did the test about 2 cm from the end I was holding.

I'll probably send one of the razors to be honed and compare it to the one I retain when I get it back. This should answer any questions about the shave-readiness of the razors.

As to the cut. I am perfectly willing to admit that that may have been user error. I was paying too much attention to how I was holding the razor, and the angle on the ATG pass (I was trying to be shallower than usual), and that may have led to me being careless. I may also have been using too shallow an angle for the WTG and XTG passes. I'll try to rectify that.