So you can't expect any razor you buy to be honed and shave ready unless the vendor is someone who knows how to hone razors. So you have to send out your razor to be honed by one of the experts. Nothing wrong with that.

In the meantime, you can try to hone on your own. But everyone says, "Whoo boy, that's difficult, son, don't you try that, better send out your razor to be honed by a pro."

I've always been a self-reliant kind of guy. Like, I can see the value in getting a razor honed by a pro so I know what a good edge feels like. But I don't want to be sending it out every six months to a year for a rework. I want to do it myself.

I have Lynn's DVD where he demonstrates honing on the Norton combo stone. Is this not sufficient? If not, what else do I need?

(I guess the same dilemma applies to stropping, and the same question about Lynn's DVD applies.)