Welcome!

Nice to meet another Chris. Great idea on sending the razors out. There are plenty of honemeisters on the forum whom everyone appraise. As far as a beginner strop, there are a couple of good options. Tony Miller @ thewellshavedgentleman.com makes a beginner's strop which is economically priced. OR you could check out THIS thread.

The Dovo is an excellent razor from what I understand. I would love to own one myself someday. I'm not very knowledgeable about the Messerschmidt, but I believe it is a Pakistani razor, which usually isn't a good thing (like most eBay razors). Don't quote me on that, though...I'm not certain.

Anyway, good to meet you. There's a TON of info here!