Hi Suff,

This place is great and as usual, there are lots of good, experienced folks to help. My first experience mirrored yours. I bought a dovo set and couldn't understand why straight razor shaving was so painful. In the end, I figured out the blade wasn't even remotely shave-ready, even though it was sold as such. I am a very stubborn diy'er and taught myself how to hone a razor, based on the awesome quantity and quality of the instruction and tips found here. What a difference that made. To my mind, a good, sharp blade is the cornerstone of all this and it sound like that is a good place to start for you, whether you do it yourself or take the probably more sensible route of have an experienced person do it.

Good luck,
Keith