I guess it would be about time for an introduction after a good 5 months of straight razor shaving and lurking. I basically went off the deep end the cheap way. My start was with the cheapest Dovo 5/8” Best Value I could find. I honed the razor with the glass stones I had around for my Japanese cutlery in the kitchen, up to 8K. Finishing was done with some Dovo red and black paste on two of the four bench strops I made myself for about $25. Judging by the streaking of the once mirror edge I would guess the red paste didnt help the edge any at the 8K level. However, the black paste did polish the edge off a bit before the unpasted strop.
The learning curve was quite steep for about a week but I am pleased to say the results, when I put in the effort for more than one pass, exceed what I could do with a cartridge razor which will not be named. I like the Colonel Conk soap in almond as well, but will give some Kabinett soap a try here after a while.
The next step will be a vintage razor or two from the classified section, hopefully shave ready.