Quote Originally Posted by Nick
Ozmeath, unfortunately it takes more than a strop. To actually sharpen you need a very very fine sharpening stone. The strop only hones the blade and cleans it.

The other thing is angle and pressure. You have to find the proper angle, and don't press! That's important, and something that's hard to get used to. I expect it's similar to the switch from steel dip pens to ballpoint. It's hard to use a dip pen now because we're used to pushing hard; the same applies to straight razors and modern razors. If it's sharp, and you've got the right angle, it should just float on top of your skin as you shave.

with my luck, I'd sharpen the blade so it would cut concrete like warm butter, and float it right through my jaw bone! I stick with the training wheels on my razors, when I use them...