Hello everyone! This is my first post here. I've been part of this group for quite some time now, but I've been quiet as a mouse, trying to soak up information. I bought a straight about 6 months ago and, after a few brave but dumb attempts at shaving with it, put it away until recently. I have a little more time now before college starts and I've picked it back up.

This particular razor is the $50 Dovo Bismarck on knifecenter.com. From what I've read on the forums I get the impression that brand new razors are not shaving sharp and need to be honed. While I can attest to that, I don't know where to start. I have a norton 4/8k and a hanging leather/linen(leathlin?linther?) strop from Jemico. I tried to hone the razor, but I didn't go too far after I realized I was probably hurting it. Is there a special routine that the experts use for factory-fresh razors, or just a normal pyramid scheme or what have you?

Also, I'm pretty sure the leather side of my strop is cupped (the edges are higher). I tried putting some weight on it, and it seemed to work, but it took on its old shape after a few hours. What could be causing this?

I've ordered two shave-ready razors and a seconds strop from Tony, but they're still en route and I'm restless