Hi all,

I'm definitely new to straight razor shaving and after much research and enthusiasm I bought a 5/8 Dovo Best Quality from Straight Razor Designs as well as one of their beginner custom strops. The razor was said to come shave ready but when I received it I tried the hanging hair test and it didn't even grip the hair but I do know that the test isn't any guarantee so I tried shaving with it anyway. At first since I am a beginner I just tried the sideburn to jaw with small strokes and as small an angle as I could; the razor cut the hair but it pulled a whole lot and was anything but "smooth". I tried stropping about 50 times but the result was the same. After much frustration and being unable to shave I bought a Norton 4k/8k stone, flattened it with a granite tile and 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and did about 40 of the lightest possible passes on the 4k and the same amount on the 8k. After stropping it it still had the same effect for the hanging hair test and the same effect when I shaved. I'm really at a loss and since I'm so new I have no idea what to do, help me Straight Razor Place, you're my only hope...