Quote Originally Posted by AbrahamSandwich View Post
Hi everyone. I've got my new blade and it's seen some strop/stone action. It's improved a little, I just had my 2nd shave, it was better than the 1rst, but still not great. Can someone describe to me what a truly, truly sharp and shave ready blade feels like to use? I'm just looking to get a frame of reference for my experience so far. Cheers.
I'm not sure if one can put that into words. I think to know it, you really have to experience it.

To me a shave-ready blade will feel smooth, it won't tug, it will remove hair with little resistance and very little pressure. It won't feel like you are fighting with the blade to get it to do its thing, and most importantly, it will just do its job really well with little hassle or irritation.

To really know, I personally think it's well worth the cost of having your blade professionally honed. Even if you only send it out once before learning to hone yourself, it will at least give you a benchmark by which to judge other edges. It doesn't cost much, but you'll probably learn a lot from it.