Thanks for the info guys. The Art of Shaving razor came shave ready. The box said the razor required no prep work and was ready to use immediately, which I did. It has a very sharp edge and managed to get through a shave yesterday. The process was long and I was very nervous using the blade. As I got more comfortable, the process got easier. I assume in time I should be able to make it through it more easily. I still had uneven patches here and there, mostly my chin which was quite difficult to do. I touched these areas up with a conventional 5 blade razor.

I'll take your advice and hold off on purchasing a honing stone for the moment. I assume stropping alone should get me a few months or so without problem. I'll send it off for to a honing place versus taking to a knife sharpening place once it needs it until I am very comfortable with my stropping technique. Hopefully by the second honing I will have enough experience with it and with stropping that I might give honing a shot on my own.

Wish me luck!