Hi getting a little lost in the 101 pages on honing here, so I figured I could just make it a thread myself. I've recently bought two straight razors. Neither is completely dull, but I think a good honing job wouldn't do any harm.

So there are two things I can do. I can either let them be honed by a local barber and then continue to strop them myself. Or I can try and hone them myself and of course strop them afterwards.

Now, in both cases, I have the same question. How long could you go without honing your blade, just by stropping it before every shave? Will the sharpness last for a year, a month, a week? I've got no idea!

In the second case, where I would begin to learn the process of honing myself, what kind of whetstones would I need? I have contacted a seller, who tells me that honing on a 1500/400 grit whetstone should be good enough, after which the stropping will do the rest. Is that true? Or does anyone have different recommendations or experiences?

And when buying a whetstone, how important is the size of the whetstone? That 1500/400 one is quite small (4 x 1.5 x 1 inch). Could that be a problem when honing a straight razor?

Lots of noobie questions! I hope the story is a little clear, because even for me it's still a bit vague. Thanks for helping either way!