Well, after about 10 shaves, I have finally had a shave that I did not feel needed touching up with my DE. Back in December, I ordered a Dovo 6/8 (faux tortoise) from Lynn at SRD. I bought one of his sets, as I felt it was the best bang for the buck. I have to admit, I was starting to feel like I wasn't cut out for using a straight. Not that I expected it to be easy, but I was starting to wonder if I had messed up my edge with my inexperienced stropping technique. You just don't have anything to compare it to, initially. It is one of the reasons I took Lynn up on his life time honing offer. You can't beat a deal like that when you are just starting out. The other reason for my frustration was that DE shaving has been extremely easy, for me. I have had no trouble with my EJ.

To make a long story short, I am happy to report that I am finally getting the hang of my lather, along with proper angles with my razor. One thing that helped has been having the bathroom to myself, for a change. I have only been able to use my straight about twice a week because of my schedule. Plus, it definitely does not help having your kids running in and out of the bathroom! But, the information I have gleaned from SRP has been invaluable. I guess I just want to say thank you to all the mentors and everyone else who has given great teaching and advice. If anyone else who is becoming frustrated reads this, I hope you give it time and patience. I have a long way to go, but at least now I realize that I can do this.