Well, in pondering all this advice I got to thinking about how well the Feather worked for me and how light it felt on my face. I had an epiphany: Sharpness isn't the only way the Feather AC differed from the other straights I've been using.

The Feather is also heavier and stiffer than the 5/8 and 6/8 full-hollows I've been using.

Now I've never been on the monster razor bandwagon--I leave that to the original Josh. I love my 4/8s and 5/8s, and the bigger wedges and quarter hollows had given me razor burn in the past.

But now that my honing has improved and I'm learning to use less pressure, I started to wonder whether a bigger, heavier blade wouldn't help me remember to lighten up on the pressure and mind my angles.

I honed up a chunky 6/8 Sheffield quarter hollow, and lo and behold, this thing handles my chin much, much better. For the last two days I've had almost no irritation, and that's while refining the freshly honed edge. I'm finally getting that "hot-knife-through-butter" sensation on my chin.

My theory right now is that the extra weight of the blade helps stabilize the razor when it hits heavy resistance around my chin. The weight also helps me remember not to bear down--I'm actually trying to hold the razor off my face. And the big goofy spine helps me see if my angles are off. It's like the large print edition.

The jury's still out on this, as I'm only on day two with this razor. I'd hate to give up my smaller blades, but I am starting to get a hankering for a nice 12/8 ...

Maybe someday my technique will improve and I'll be able to go back to the smaller razors.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions--I'll let you know how this turns out.

Josh