Hello everyone!

I have been interested in learning to shave with a straight edge for awhile, but have put it off due to the high startup costs (razor, strop, etc.). Last week I inherited a whole bunch of straight shaving gear. My grandfather was a barber from 1927 to 1995 (he didn't retire until he was 87!) and I now have a stop, quite a few razors and two hones of his. I was hoping for some information about them because I would like to use them.

The stop has two straps, one is smooth leather and the second is coarser leather with a diagonal grade to it (it has two different colors to the leather, dark and light, going diagonally down the strap like pinstripes). I am not sure what the coarser leather would be used for?

The hones I am also unfamiliar with. One is dark brown and very smooth. It is about 4" by 2" with chips on the ends. The second is jet black, about 2" by 6", very smooth (more so than the brown one) and has "Raven" printed at one end with a small bird next to the word. I assume these are hones- but is there any way to determine what type? Do I need honing oil to use them?

I also have 12 razors. I don't know anything about them, but they all appear to be of the wedge type. There's a Dovo, a bunch of Hess razors and a few double duck razors. They are all dull and some have small rust spots. Whats the best way to remove the rust? If I can figure out the hones I would like to sharpen some and use them. Well anyways, thanks for any info you can provide and if I can borrow a digital camera I'll try to post some pictures of the razors.