So, I've been shaving w/ a Merkur Progress for over a year now. My favorite, most comfortable, and closest shaves ever have been with Feather blades and the Progress at a setting of 5.

I got my Gold Dollar razor and strop from ruprazor.com and I'm two shaves in--I have to say, shaving with that thing is tough on my face. If it weren't for my DE shaving experience I would have surely cut myself w/ the Gold Dollar by now.

So, why is it that the Feather blade is so much sharper? Is this expected? If so, I'm afraid I'm going to have to give up on the straight razor shaving business.

What am I doing wrong? What else can I do? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.