Need advise with shaving woes
Hi All,
I recently decided to give the joys of straight razor shaving a try, I had read a little bit of info prior to taking the first steps but made the silly (although well meaning) mistake of purchasing a strop and razor from ebay, as I was unwilling to fork out hundreds If I found I didn't enjoy it (combined cost of £20).
Obviously when the razor arrived it was about as sharp as a the flat side of a butter knife, and shaving was not the joy I had hoped, I purchased a 'King' 1000/6000 grit waterstone and tried my hand at honing. I am largely unsure how well I did with this although after hours of honing I am no closer to cutting a hair (I am aware that 6000 will never get it super sharp) but at least now I can actually cut some stubble with it although shaving is not exactly smooth, leaving me red and chaffed.
My question basically is this:
Is the discomfort likely a combination of my face getting used to it, poor technique, amateurish honing and imperfect soap (glycerin based 'King of shaving' gel but not ideal).
Or am I going to have to accept that a cheap ebay razor will never hold an edge and so never be more than scraping a lump of jagged metal across my face?
I am probably willing to splash out for an entry/mid level Dovo if advisable, but I just want to be sure that it is a must and not just me wanting a shiny new toy.
Many thanks,
Sillyfishyboy.