Thank you everyone for your replies. The blade i bought was a Dovo Special through the classifieds on this site. Like I said, it was said to be honed and stropped so i tried to shave without any touch ups. It did seem sharp with a thumb test before the shave. it certainly wanted to cut my thumb open with little pressure. It did feel like the shave was slightly better after stropping, but that didn't last more than a few seconds. I've come to terms with needing to hone the edge better. Either way, I will be taking a deep look through the library during the week before my hone stones arrive. I bought a 1k/6k and a 10k.