Quote Originally Posted by thebigspendur View Post
You might want to send one out for proper honing and then you will have eliminated one factor.
I'm at 10 wks w/ a moderately course beard. My honing skills weren't up to snuff, but more so, I didn't have a prof. honed blade against which to measure my efforts. I sent a blade out for honing so I'd have an example of what it should feel like (the able gssixgunner). I don't match the fineness of his 30k shapton, but *I now get great shaves.

The other thing that helped incredibly was trying a heavy grind razor. I tried a 1/4 hollow, and it just changed my shaving world. It came prof. honed, and EVERYTHING was easier. You don't have to blow a big wad on a Gucci blade - there are good blades cheap in the classifieds. I now focus on duplicating the moves I learn on a wedge & 1/4 hollow w/ my full hollows. I can do it, but it takes alot more care. I do it 'cause the extra demand will refine my skills, but I still would rather shave w/ that 1/4 hollow than anything.