Hi everyone, I guess the forum with "newbies" in the title is the right place for me, so here goes!

I've just recently gotten into straight-razor shaving... for years I've tried using those disposable-head triple-blade things, and always end up with a raw face, and a poor shave. I've got rather coarse facial hair, and very sensitive skin... not a great combination. As such, I usually end up sporting an itchy beard, which I actually hate.

Recently, I tried straight-razor shaving, as sort of a "last resort" My wife and I decided to start cheap, just to try it out, with the Dovo Shavette. It was like night and day! It was literally like wiping the beard off my face with a towel! Needless to say, I was sold!

Now, a few weeks later, for our 2nd anniversary, she's surprised me with an actual straight razor (the website said "Dovo" but this says Col Ichabod Conk, which I've heard is basically a Dovo under a different name?), along with a linen/leather strop, some strop dressing from Fromm and this stone-on-a-paddle thing that also says Col. Ichabod Conk on it. It's my understanding that before use, this razor will need to be honed, and I'm trying to wade through the huge amount of information on the wiki here, but honestly feel a bit overwhelmed! So many new terms to learn, and whatnot.

I know my next step is to get this thing sharp, but I'm honestly a bit at a loss. Is that what this stone/paddle thing is for? Or is that a bad idea? A lot of places say to get it professionally honed... what sort of places do this? How can I find one in my area?

I know this is a lot of questions all at once, but I wanna make sure I do all this right!

Thanks!