I'm just getting started with this whole straight razor business. I wanted to jump into it in the most straightforward way possible, so I went through the various FAQs and ended up with a Dovo Best Quality 6/8 pre-honed from Straight Razor Design (no 5/8's available, as recommended by the FAQ) and a Filly strop from ruprazor.com. I had a brush and Proraso already. For any other straight up newbies, I think I can recommend the above choices as easy (no Ebaying of questionable antique razors), cheap (on the lower end of prices I saw), and high quality (pre-honed by a "honemeister"; FAQ approved).

I've been through about a week's worth of shaves, and it's working well, but I do have a question about the paste on the ruprazor strop. How long is it meant to last without refreshing? How do you tell? If you still see green, is it still working? If I want to repaste, do I need to stay with the same brand/type of paste, or can I use any .5 micron chromium oxide? And where can I get it? I found a likely bottle at chefsknivestogo, but they're sold out....