Everything I've read so far suggests that I should have a razor, or two, professionally honed to be able to judge what a 'shave-ready' razor is like. Well, I just got two back and have shaved with both and am wondering where the miraculous shave is.

To be honest, I just started straight shaving in Sept., only to start a beard in November. I trimmed the neck w/ my straights the whole time, but now that I lopped it all off and tried out my new 'shave-ready' razors, I'm a little dissappointed. Am I that out of practice?

Prep? hot shower. Pre-shave oil. Nice hot lather. Short strokes down the sideburns (which had already been clipped short). The razor seemed to miss HALF the whiskers! Humility demands that I re-evaluate my technique, but honestly, I don't remember my shave being this challenging. Could the razors not have been honed enough? What SHOULD I expect?