Hello all,

This is my first post and I have 2 questions.

1) When you hone a razor that has a very nice 14k gold or other pretty design on the blade, will it not be ruined by the honing stone? I have seen many videos on honing and they appear to lay the blade flat on the stone which it seems will damage the design on the blade.

and...

2) I plan on purchasing my first razor soon. The razor is a 5/8 Dovo Classic and I wonder if I should ask them to hone the blade for me for the first time. If not, will it come shave ready or can I get it shave ready by using a few runs on the strop? I would prefer to wait a while before spending the money on a stone.

Thanks,

KT