Thanks for the advice guys! Considering there isn't anyone around the corner to teach me these things face-to-face, it does sound much wiser to send it to a pro and have something to compare to. I really was throwing myself out there with the wolves; the most frustrating thing was I've been waiting so long to shave with a straight razor. I think this will benefit more now that I've actually seen the worn out blade and will be able to compare after some professional work as oppose to just buying something shave ready.

Now, I looked at the classifieds for the honing services and noticed several ads that look promising (all are relatively the same ballpark price range). Is there anyone in particular that could be recommended? or anyone to avoid?

On a side note, I got to thinking (maybe I'm just not thinking outside the box here), but consider this. If a razor has been used for any amount of time, one would assume it was honed, stropped and kept relatively sharp; otherwise, the person using it would not really be able to shave properly. That being said, let's assume it hasn't been neglected or mistreated either. Years go by after no use and someone decides to purchase this razor from somewhere like ebay. How in the world does the bevel get so dull that an entirely new bevel must be set in? If the original user was only using it for shaving purposes, the blade would have had some sort of decent bevel (or blade, not sure of the terminology) to where the next person that picked it up could simply do a little honing and get it shave ready again (assuming it wasn't honed after its last use). Does this make sense or am I not using my brain? The metal edge doesn't just magically round itself off.

One last thing, Dan mentioned it was hard to explain setting a bevel or how to achieve it. Let's say I wanted to learn how to set a new bevel on my own (in the future after some experience), where could I find some good literature/pictures/etc.? I briefly searched the forums, but didn't locate anything specifically, maybe someone else could help me find out faster. I certainly am not asking anyone to write me a book about it on this thread, but maybe there is a link to somewhere I can read about it. Thanks once again . . . glad I found this site!