I haven't been wet shaving very long, but I have had almost perfect shaves with my Gillette New from the beginning (using Wilkinson Sword blades at the moment). My SR arrived a few days ago. It is a Dovo 5/8 rounded, hollow, silver steel. I simply haven't been able to get a shave as good as I get with the DE. I've done heaps of reading and watching Youtube videos about SR shaving, so I think I know enough, but I'm just not finding that it cuts the hair very well, so I'm not sure if it's technique or the condition of the blade.

I got it from here. They sell a crapton of razors, and being German, I figured they would know what they're doing with with them. Their FAQ says that the razors are honed and stropped to be shave-ready. I even got a German friend to translate for me before I ordered, to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding. I didn't touch the blade in any way prior to my first shave. After each subsequent shave, I stropped fifty laps on the leather side.

So, I try to do the 30 degree WTG, 15 degree XTG, and 5 degree ATG. It just doesn't seem to be cutting the hair that well. I do fairly short, quick strokes, and it kind of sounds like sandpaper. If I go in the same direction again, it still sounds like sandpaper. In fact, I can keep going over and over on the same spot and it just keeps making the sandpaper noise. With the DE, if I shave in a particular direction, say WTG, it is silent if I try going in the same direction again. With the SR, I can feel much more resistance than with the DE. It doesn't pull or tug, but I definitely feel like I have to push against the hair a little bit, whereas with the DE, it feels like a hot knife through butter when the blade is new.

If I do three passes, and use a fair amount of pressure, I can get an okay shave; it's definitely cutting the hair. But if I want it BBS, I still need to lather up again and do one last ATG with the DE. On the positive side, I get a completely irritation-free shave with the SR.

It cuts through a hanging hair if it manages to catch, but it will slide along it without cutting if it doesn't catch.

So, does it sound like they didn't sharpen it that well, or am I doing something wrong with my technique? I spent a fair amount expecting a shave-ready razor, so I would rather not have to send it off to get rehoned, particularly if it turns out it was bad technique all along. I was planning on shaving with it for a few months and then getting a finishing stone to keep it sharp.

Any advice would be appreciated.