I bought a Dovo Diamont, and I'm very interested in this, as I've yet to be able to shave a single whisker even after a professional honing.

My goal is to shave my face and head with the straight razor, but so far I've only tried shaving my cheeks to get comfortable with the technique. I've tried 3 different times, varying pressure, blade angle and skin stretch, and I don't feel any reduction of whiskers.

I'm worried also about my strop - frankly afraid to do this and risk dulling after the professional honing (which is a couple hours away from home), so I've only tried minimal stropping after the honing. I also wonder is it a problem if the strop is not at least as wide as or wider than the blade?

I'll likely try to find a professional barber who strops his own blades, and pay him to shave me with mine.

Any other novices have and overcome the same experience? If so, how?