Thread: There are no stupid questions, except ones asked 1000 times, like this

Good evening everyone, I am a proud owner of a new Dovo straight razor and I am happy to be a new member here.

I tend to learn best by watching and repeating, so if someone could please take a few minutes to read this and let me know if I am understanding this correctly.

Strops:
I received my razor as shave ready. My normal, daily use will include stropping the razor before I shave and possibly after I shave. I have a strop with a latigo side and a canvass (?) side. I will do 20 complete up and back passes on the canvass side and then 25 complete up and back passes on the leather side. I do not have to use strop pastes; however, as I learn and improve my skills, I can look into using the strop pastes. Once or twice a year, I should or can use mink oil or something similar to treat the leather portion of the strop to keep it supple.

Honing:
I should not need to constantly hone my razor. There is not set number of uses or days, but is more of a "as I think I need it" routine, but may be about every 3-6 months. I can use the Norton 4000/8000 grit and this is good enough for a new user. I can also, if I want to spend more money, use a yellow Coticule and slurry sharpening stone or a Sharpton Glass Stone set. I would use a small bit of water on the honing stones.

If you have made it this far, thank you very much for reading this. I would appreciate any feedback on my understanding of the above. I think that as i get more experienced and comfortable with using the razor, I will look into expanding my use of the various pastes, strops and hones, but for now, I want to make sure I can take care of the razor I have now.