Thread: Hello everyone.Any suggestions welcome.

Hello.I am new in the world of real straight razors but not in the world of traditional shaving and honing.
I started shaving with a DE razor a year ago and about 6 months ago I started shaving with a shavette cause I liked the idea of a straight razor (total control over the angle,BBS shaves,can easily be used to shave other people too).
I also started sharpening and honing knifes about the same time (about a year ago) and although my knifes could easily shave my arm hair,leg hair and all those tests you will often see people doing on youtube , I always thought it a very bad idea to actually try to shave with a knife.
So having some water stones already and a 4-sided paddle strop I decided to buy a razor and a hanging strop.My razor is the invisible edge razor sold on their site and made by DOVO.
The razor seemed pretty sharp and the edge surface well polished so I stropped it using 50 rounds and tried to shave with it.The shave was pretty bad.I am used to a very sharp blade and wasn't comfortable with this much tagging and pulling.I don't have a thick beard , not at all but I still like to use pretty sharp blades cause the shave feels way better.Of course I had no cuts or any irritation , the razor was much more forgiving then I am used to.But I felt uncomfortable and the shave was not close at all.So I only had a WTG pass and tried to even it out cause the blade couldn't cut through the tougher parts of my beard.
I was a bit disappointed but nonetheless I honed my razor on a selected coticule bout I have.Examining the edge the scratch pattern was a bit rough so I decided to use my Chinese natural as well.The edge was now so well polished I couldn't see a scratch pattern anymore , so I stropped it 20 rounds with 0.25 micron diamond paste,10 rounds on chromium oxide and about 60-70 on my hanging strop.But the next time I tried to shave with it again the results were again disappointing.It was smoother and the tagging was on a level that I found bearable but nowhere near the shaves I normally get from my shavette.I simply don't get what I did wrong.Searching I found many posts and articles saying that straights don't get as sharp as DE blades , but they are more than sharp enough and way smoother.Not having a tough beard (though I have very high demands on the blades ability to give a very close shave with almost no pulling) I find it difficult to believe a traditional straight can't give a great close shave without pulling of the hair.
All in all any advise will be greatly appreciated.I know many of you will probably think factors like beard preparation and skills in actually using the straight , but I have already been using a shavette with great success from the very first time I used it (having experience in all the basics from using a DE razor).Though I have some experience with honing knifes and really great results , I believe this is my weak point.Though the think I am actually totally new to is using a hanging strop,from the videos I have seen and the advise I read , as well as the sound I hear when using it I believe that is not the case either.
My razor is made by DOVO(meaning it must be a pretty decent one) so I am guessing it just wasn't really shave ready and I am doing something wrong in the honing process which is why I desperately need advice on that.

The razor from that seller would have been shave ready so I can only imagine you messed up the stropping. The only other thing it could be is your technique/prep. You should have just shaved with it straight out of the box.
A straight will give you a smooth shave with no pulling but it must be in top condition and kept that way with careful stropping.
My advice is to start again. Get it re-honed by a pro then you will know how it should feel and will give you a bench mark. The other option is keep honing yourself and shaving until your happy with the way it shaves.
Best of luck !

Have it re-honed by a pro, and don't strop it before you shave with it. You know how you want it to feel from the shavette.

Good luck!

Using a straight razor is similar to the shavette, but really not the same. With the machined blades in the shavette, you can get away with shaving at a more open angle. The tendency for new straight razor shavers is to bend their wrists back which can open up the blade angle to over 45 degrees which will not be comfortable to shave with. You really need to watch and make sure you keep the razor more vertical with a real straight razor. That is usually the main culprit when you switch over. At this point, it would be hard to tell what you did to the blade when you attempted to hone it, so sending it out would probably be the best option.

Patience and Practice will get you there.

Have fun.

Thank you for the advice everyone.The razor angle could be the solution as the width and weight of the razor was way different and maybe I need to focus on that the next time.
I find it hard to believe I messed up the stropping although I only strop my knifes on a paddle strop (and I made sure not to lift the spine as if I was stropping one ) the sound I heard seemed good and I have seen many videos and read instructions about it.Now as for the honing it seems pretty straight forward to me but I only have experience with knifes although I use very fine stones to polish them as well.I have seen many videos on that matter as well but now I can't be sure about my results without having tried the razor after it has been honed by an experienced person.
Finally you are quite right England , I stropped the razor before use the first time so if it went wrong I might have ruined the edge even before that first shave.