I've used a straight in the past but that was limited to just stropping and shaving...I'm new to doing everything including honing a straight razor and have a ton of questions. I'll try to dribble them on a few at a time rather than bombard the gurus all at once.

Today I received a Shapton 16K and was VERY impressed with the way it worked. Lots of feedback...you could feel when the razor was getting done as it started sticking to the hone from the suction. In fact my only complaint is I wish it was a little thicker so I'd still have some fingertips when I get done honing. But...is it common for it to arrive badly out of level? For a C note I'd expect not to have to lap it for an hour. It wasn't level until the third time I drew the pencil marks and scuffed them off. And what do those of you without the Shapton lapping plate use? I've always used a piece of glass and 400 grit wet/dry for my other hones but that took forever on the Shapton.

Since I had a new toy all my razors mysteriously seemed to be dull to the point of needing honing...which brings up my next question. I honed and stropped a couple. So how long will that treatment last until they need to be stropped again? I'm assuming it should last for a couple days (or longer if I take the time to oil them) before the edge starts to rust and needs to be stropped again but has anyone got any data on this? It would be nice to "prep" the razor the night before and break the shaving ritual into two short parts rather than one long one. Yeah I'm a strop addict...20 on the linen and 60 on the leather and sometimes repeating while shaving depending on the razor.

And last but not least how do most of you store your razors between shaves? My TI gets put in its nice leather case but the new Dovo I just bought came in a paper box which doesn't look like it would last long in the moist environment of a bathroom. Also do those of you with small children take any special precautions? After some of the cuts I've gotten I'm considering installing a gun safe in my bathroom for the razors.