Switched To Straights. Need Help.
I am about 7 shaves in and they seem to be getting worse. I purchased a whippeddog, shave ready, straight and briefly thought I was making progress until last night. It was probably the worst shave of my life. I feared poor stropping may have rolled the edge, so I used lapping films on a glass plate to bring it back. I am no stranger to knife and tool sharpening, so I am confident that the razor is sharp enough. I understand a straight razor is a different animal, but I can dry shave hair off of my arm, and the blade looks clean and even all the way across, under magnification. It also cleanly cuts the hair off my arm just by passing it a bit over my arm. I then carefully stropped it up and proceeded to knick up my face. Burn was minimal though.
I do a hot towel prep twice with my face lathered (VDH brush and soap), then strop while lathered before first pass. I have a very thick, course beard, but I can take that razor to any other hair on my body, and with just a little soap and water, it takes it off effortlessly to skin level. Is beard hair really different or am I missing something?
I am at the point where the razor feels comfortable in my hands, at least for the first pass WTG on the sides. But I can't get the hair to skin level, even with XTG. I have been concentrating on light pressure, skin stretching, and working on buffing with short strokes, but still no closer with more knicks. It does reduce the beard, but it seems that I would have to do a dozen passes to get it to skin level. I would appreciate any advice. Also, I am grateful that there is such a wonderful resource, like this one, on the subject.
I guess I am wondering if it is normal to get worse before you get better?