As a new member I thought some of you might enjoy seeing my kit. OK I'll be honest, I'm just proud & wanted to show it off! Sorry for the poor photo quality, I used a cellphone to take the photo.
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_1662.jpg
The razor on the left is a CS DOVO 5/8. I was inebriated when i placed the order, so I forgot to add pro-honing. It had only the factory edge & will be the one I practice honing on once I can shave well enough to know the difference.
The razor on the right is a SS DOVO 5/8 from SRD, honed by Lynn. It was part of a special, which included the honing & a strop. I didn't really want a stainless blade, but between the initial hone & the included free honing certificate I should be able to get at least a tolerable edge on the first razor before that becomes an issue providing I don't drop it or tap the faucet!
The brush is a travel brush, as I spend about 8-9 months traveling each year. The handle extension also acts as a sleeve to protect the bristles when it's packed away. Incidentally, I'm glad I opted for silvertip on my first brush, it feels very nice while I'm working up a lather.
The strop sitting leather-side up is a 2" latigo that came with the SRD razor, I wasn't paying attention & clicked 2" instead of 3", but I don't think it'll matter too much. In this case you'd just use an edge-trailing x-stroke, right?
The linen-side up strop is a 3" latigo that came with my first razor. It was doubled over in the shipping box & held some of the curve. I've got it laying flat on a bookshelf & using the 2" until it's flattened back out.
Other items not shown are a Norton 4x8, a 12k water stone. After playing with the first razor and getting a moderate improvement, I've set those aside until I can get a better shave & more readily able to tell a good hone from not quite so good.