Just sharing a shaving experience

I have shaved with a straight maybe 6 times now. My new dovo 4/8 came yesterday, and I honed it myself. I posted about that in the honing area last night. This morning I shaved with it, and it was the closest, most comfortable shave Ive had yet. My other razor, a vintage Gem 5/8 bought for cheapness from Whipped dog was what I had to compare sharpness to, so I made sure they were comparably sharp with the HHT, and this morning I shaved with the dovo. I found, though, that professional honing notwithstanding, the Dovo gave an orders of magnitude better shave. Does this make sense to other people? Although the cheaper razor was honed by a pro, the dovo still shaves better? Granted I took my time and honed it well, but still. Similarly sharp razors should give similar shaves, no?

The short answer is 'Yes'.

The long answer is that there are so many variables at play in a shave that it is sometimes difficult to draw conclusions.

I agree that yes is the answer. I have to say that I went from a 5/8 Dovo to a Spike 4/8. I feel like I get a better shave with the 4/8. My thought is that the 4/8 is a lot easier for me to maneuver. I am new to straight razor shaving but that is my theory. Some people like the big razors maybe you like the small ones.Or it is you can just hone like a pro ;)

I do like a smaller razor, as I have a beard, and so shape it on my cheeks and shave only my neck and under my chin. These being more detailed areas, I understand a smaller blade is an advantage.