Welcome to the club!

1. Dovos are fine razors. I started with that model 2 years ago and it's still in my rotation.

2. I highly recommend getting it honed beforehand. I'll address stropping in #3, but for your first shave, it might be best NOT to strop, just to eliminate the chance of damaging the nice edge Lynn will have put on the razor. This will give you a chance to see how a really sharp razor feels.

3. You should strop your razor on plain leather (no pastes or other abrasives) before every shave, about 30-50 passes is the norm (up and back). Many strops have a linen side which you could use first, i.e. 20 passes on linen, 20 on leather. I don't bother with the linen anymore, but many people feel it "warms up" the razor for the leather.

4. Do you know what type of hair they are? Most likely they are badger hair, which would be ideal if the brush is in good condition. See if you can find any marks on the handle (Best Badger, Pure Badger, Silvertip). That will let you know the quality of hair. It is possible that they are boar hair, which will still work fine, just requires a little more work to lather up and a slightly different feel. I started with a boar brush.

5. That soap should be fine. Read up on the forums and you'll find recommendations on how to build a good lather.

Once you get everything, remember that beard prep makes a huge difference in the quality of your shave. Keep us posted on how things go.

~Jim