I've been straight shaving off and on and haven't been able to get a really satisfactory shave yet. I honed a razor the other day and went to stropping. I don't have a linen so I tried stropping on the flesh side a bit and gave it a LOT of passes on leather. Went to do a dry test shave on my neck using really short strokes and less pressure than usual. Checked the spot to see how it did. Felt smooth, really smooth compared to my other attempts. Even feeling against the grain I didn't feel like their was much missed. Not sure if it was the technique, I'm getting better at honing, extra stropping time, new razor, or all of the above. Definitely nice to see marked improvement, even if it was a small patch on my neck.

This is a keeper anyway:

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Weed & Co. Buffalo, NY

Hones used if anyone is interested.

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1/6K then finished on Coti from an antique shop