First, let me say thank you to all of you. This forum has been great. While this is my first post, I am on here almost everyday reading as much as I can. My fiancé thinks I have problem, but what can I say...I wanna know as much as possible.

A quick note about me, I work in law enforcement so I pretty much have to shave everyday. I went through life using a disposable and just living with the irritation, thinking it was just how it is . Then I learned about the straight razor! I started off simple, a Dovo Shavette back in September. While the first time it looked like I shaved using a wolverine, things got better and I really got the hang of it. For Christmas, I decided it was time to step up my game and go pro. I convinced the fiancé this was the right move for both us and she was nice enough to get me a honing stone and strop for Christmas. It was up to me to get the razor. I went with a Dovo stainless steal 5/8". Being cocky, I jumped right in...and quickly learned I needed to make a lot of adjustments. At this point, I am proud to say it no longer looks like I stick my face in a paper shredder before heading out and the face is very very smooth.

Here is my question....after practice I can do a great job honing and stropping (I think). I have realized that while stainless steal keeps the edge longer, it takes more to get and maintain that edge. Before I shave, I strop the blade about 200 passes. This seems to work perfect for me, my issue is am I hurting the blade at all or am an idiot and need more work on my stropping technique because I should be doing less passes?

Take it easy on me guys...still learning....thanks in advance.