Ok, well I had my first straight razor shave tonight, It was from a Fromm Red Head that I bought out of the classifieds, that was "shave ready". It looks great. My shave however was short, very painful, and bloody. I have been shaving with a DE razor for about a year or more, so I feel like my beard prep is very up to par, so I dont think that is why the shave was bad. When I used the razor, I could feel it really pulling on the hairs during the stroke, and it was painful. I am confused, I am not sure if the razor was not honed to be sharp enough, if I didnt strop it correctly, or if my shaving technique was just bad. Either way, I am not dying to get back in there for another try, knowing that the razor is not going to glide through the hairs like I was hoping it would. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I am not wanting to throw in the towel this soon, but if the razor was not sharp this time, I am assuming it is going to be just as dull next time, unless some stroping will really bring the edge back to a razor.

Can a razor that is shave ready from the hone still feel dull and pull on hairs, if the stroping is done incorrectly?? When would one know to go back to the hone, or when to work on stroping technique, when a razor is not shaving nicely?

Secondly, I need to know if I need to buy a new strop or not. I bought a nice Russian Dovo leather strop on classic shaving a while back, and never used it. It ended up sitting in a closet for a year or so, and formed a nice crease in the middle of the leather from being folded over. I have tried to smooth it out, with limited success. I do not know how perfect a strop has to be to successfully prep the razor. Any advice?? I can see as I draw the razor over the strop, that the cutting edge does not completely lie flat on the leather, because the leather is not perfectly flat, unless I press the razor into the strop with some force, but I have read that pressure on razor, while gliding over the strop is bad. Does this mean that my strop is ruined, and it is time to buy a new one? I am not sure if my razor is dull because my stropping technique is bad, or if my strop is ineffective in its use.

Lastly, what is the minimum amount of equipment needed to do ones own honing? I read about people having a 4K8K, a chinese 12K, then a four sided pasting strop, with different grits, and so one. All I have is a Norton 4K8K, and I am wondering if that is all I really need to keep my razors up to full sharpness, or if it would be worth investing in some more equipment?