First shave but not sharp?

Hey,
I received my razor today and have left my whiskers for 2 days ready for this occasion but it wasn't as espected. My razor was honed and stropped but after the first stroke I knew shame thing didn't feel right it just pulled and felt very harsh so I stopped and carried on with my shavette.
So next thing the HHT and as I thought it didn't pass bearing in mind I haven't stropped and attempted to shave about an inch of my whiskers.

Where shall I go from here? Strop ( for the first time) or I don't know......


Ben

If i was you i would send it to lynn or ginsing or some one near you. That way you get agood bench mark ...then your set and no what a razor should shave like ... What razor is it?

gary

I would also agree to contact the person that honed it for you. You may have to get it re honed..It was stropped for you already?

Yeah honed and stropped maybe the razor wasn't tested before it was sent I bought it off a reputable seller in the UK

Are you in the uk? what type of razor is it? If your in the uk you can send it to me and i can test shave the razor . It maybe ok not saying it is .. just if its your first shave there is alittle diferance going from shavette to straight... If its puling i'll let you no. then i'll rehone and give a test . i'll make sure it s shave ready..

Just curious since you mention using a shavette & should have a fair idea on using a straight razor, had you practiced stropping a razor before you stropped this one? It's a fairly basic practice once you get it down, but done incorrectly it may have rolled the edge.

My only other question would be whether it was factory honed & "shave ready" or professionally honed by the vendor from whom you ordered it.

Edit: Regarding the hht, that can be very subjective. Lots of variables such as whose hair you use & which end your cutting can make a big difference in the pass/fail of a razor. It can be a very informative test, but you've got to limit the variables as much as possible & determine what works best.

Hey yeah it was honed professionally and stripped before so I didn't have to I dout it was damaged during transit as it was very well packed. Maybe it's me il send it to someone but it just doesn't feel right.

Could just be a bad hone then. Nobody is perfect, so it's bound to happen occasionally. I'd recommend sending it to Lynn or another reputable honer like the others have said.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Benj

Hey yeah it was honed professionally and stripped before so I didn't have to I dout it was damaged during transit as it was very well packed. Maybe it's me il send it to someone but it just doesn't feel right.

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in my trial and errors, a shavette and straight dont shave the same. you can do things with the shavette you cant do with the straight and vise versa because the shavette uses an actual razor blade.

If the razor was bought from a reputable dealer i would wager it was plenty sharp. just give it a few tries and strop before shaving (slowly as you are a newbie so you do not roll or damage the edge or your strop).

experiment with different blade angles and you should find the razor more than sharp enough, unless you somehow dulled it.

Can't see how I dulled it as I shaved straight out the box was quite excited. Maybe i tried a few angles but couldn't move it lol. I might send it and at least il know if its tested and ready to go.