Thread: Is my razor sharp enough? HHT says NO! Your thoughts?

Okay, so I've been reading this forum for about a year, watched tons of straight shaving tutorials and have improved my technique a little bit over the past few months. But I still feel like my blade is holding me back (i know, i know, common newbie mistake!)....but here's my reasoning.

Tried the HHT with my hair (pretty thin) and it failed miserably. even when moving the blade pretty quickly and very close to where I was holding the hair (kinda scary!)

Also tried with my girlfriend's hair...she is asian so it's thicker black hair. Still no luck. I had to hold a long strand and basically hack at it at an angle (maybe 60 degrees) to get it to cut.

I like the razor itself...it's simple, nothing fancy, plain black scales, 5/8, roundpoint, extra hollow ground singing blade, made by AHACOWA (???)....should be a great blade for a newbie like myself, right? BTW, it was graciously donated (yes, DONATED!!!) to me by a member of this forum, for which I am truly grateful!

Anyhow, I've experimented with lots of different techniques, pulling skin tight, not pulling it tight, different angles of the blade, wtg, xtg, atg, even a couple different soaps (using Tabac now which i love!)....I'm shaving right after I get out of a hot shower and applying hot Tabac lather with a good best badger brush (like the exfoliation of it vs. silvertip)....nonetheless, when I shave, the blade seems to bind on my whiskers....at very aggressive angle it just drags some whiskers out, leaving others in place (along with a healthy dose of razor burn)... at less aggressive angles (45 degrees or so) it just scrapes against my face and doesn't do much. In between it just binds up and I have to force it through the first 1/4 inch or so until it seems to cut with the momentum I have built up from the initial "jump start" as it were.

Anyhow, after I'm done I feel like somebody has taken a flame thrower to my face....my beard is very thick and stubbly (think bruce willis or tom waits...seriously, I get a 5 o clock shadow @ noon!)...but still, this should be no problem for a super sharp blade, right? That said, I can use a Mach 3 cartridge for a couple weeks before it starts to irritate my skin even a little....my blade has gotta be sharper than a used mach 3 blade(s) right???

BTW, I'm using a Tony Miller 3" Latigo strop with a tiny little bit of vitamin E oil to give it more draw so I can use as little pressure as possible. I'll admit my stropping technique isn't great, but it should be good enough to at least get started.

So, watcha think? Am I making a newbie mistake thinking my blade isn't sharp enough? Is my HHT flawed? Should I just lumber through and keep trying and hopefully my face won't literally catch on fire in the process? Would you suggest getting a different razor? Or just getting this one professionally honed? I've always liked the idea of a wedge razor...for some reason it just seems like a better design...but the blades aren't generally as sharp as a hollow-ground right?

Anyway, any and all advice is much appreciated!!! Thanks fellas!!!