I've been shaving with a straight for 7 months now, still feel like a beginner. This is probably a beginner-type question...

Starting with my post-shave stropping yesterday (I do a pre- and post-shave strop), I noticed that the heel of my razor is scraping my leather strop on one side of the razor. I first noticed it by the sound it was making. I slowed down, and tried different positions on the strop until I tracked it down to the heel. I felt along the edge of the razor, but didn't feel anything rough or bent. I looked at it with a magnifying glass, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The one thing I could see was that when I turned my strop over and used the cloth side again (post-shave I always go cloth ~50 strokes, then leather ~100), the heel snagged a small strand of the cloth, very very small, allowing me to see exactly where the problem is. But, even on close inspection of this spot, I couldn't see anything wrong with the blade.

So, my question is: do I need to get this razor honed? Or is this "normal."

Just a few minutes ago, I purchased my second razor from the classifieds, because I realized that I should have two in case one goes down. Been wanting to do that for a while actually. Until that arrives, I guess I'll just have to be extremely careful to keep the heel away from my face & neck.

Also, I just read Lynn's post to beginners regarding self-honing. I have not yet learned this art, but I intend to. Now that I own two razors, it will be more practical for me to learn.

Thanks,

Scott