Good evening gents!

I have been wet shaving for almost 4 months now. I started off with a Merkur 180 and soon moved onto a Gillette Slim Adjustable and a Gillette Fatboy. I have also just obtained a very good condition 1939 Shick injector I have yet to try out. I think I've "caught the bug" because I have accumulated 8 different razors in hopes to find what works best for me.

Back on topic, two months into this adventure I purchased a Feather AC SS model and realized how much I enjoyed the idea of a straight over a DE. Although I am satisfied with the shave I get from both my Feather AC and My DEs with Feather blades, I wanted to move onto what people say is "the real thing". I have been able to get my hands on a Wester bros No. 23 Best as well as a Dovo 5/8" straight both deemed "shave ready".

Although both are sharp enough to cut hair on my arm with ease (as a test) when I went to shave with them I felt it tugged quite a bit. Later, while conducting another sharpness test I found that neither blade could cut hairs on my arms midway (I.E not touching skin just midway between skin and end of hair). Since then I have used a pasted strop (black dovo paste) and then re-stropped the blades on my leather to see if it helped. It seems they are slightly sharper but still not enough.

Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what I may be doing wrong?