I have been shave with a sr for several months now and as my technich gets better I notice many different aspects of the soap, strop, razor sharpness etc>> At first I thought my razor was not sharp. Got mucho irritation. I kept with it and as I improved I had less irritation. Along the way I tore up a new strop, ordered replacement parts from srd, and watched several vids. repaired the strop and got better at that. Hmmm razor seems sharper still and I have even less irritation. Tried my new MWF and even better still. No irritation, however I still think I dulled that razor a little on the strop as it pulls some out on the end. The last 1/3 of the blade so to speak. No matter I will get that fixed shortly. I guess the point that I am trying to get across here is everyone has their own learning curve and there is more to this than a person might think, however it is not rocket science and a little patience goes a long way. LISTEN to the good folks on this site when they give advise try it. So to all us noobs go find a friend and show him your razor and this site! Watch out gillette!

Semper Fi gents and have a nice shave!