I don't grow a beard very fast, and what there is of it is very spotty except around the mustache, so I only shave every other day. Naturally, the razor I ordered from Alex arrived on the day I shaved, but I couldn't wait. This morning I gave it a swing. I'd been advised by a local guy to start slow - sideburns only the first couple of times, move on to include cheeks after a few days, hold off tackling tricky areas until I'm a bit more confident...

Lathered up, swiped the blade across one of Tony's paddles four or five times, tried the left cheek (I'm right-handed). Not impressed with the closeness of the shave; had to actually check that whiskers were being removed. Hmm. Re-lathered right side of the face because the left side took too long, and then swiped the blade across the strop six more times and went at it. I have no idea how, but the difference was night and day. The right side of my face has never felt so smooth.

I guess the moral of today's story is that with stropping, a little can go a long way to finish the edge of the blade. Oh, and keep track of where the point of the blade is. Left earlobe took a 1/4" slice. oops. Maybe I should shave with glasses on the first few times...