Hello! This is my first post, but I've been lurking since December (when I ordered my first straight razor). Thanks for all the helpful info people have already posted.

Here's my question... how often do you hone your razors? I know it varies by razor and person, but I wanted to hear from other ladies (who cover a lot more real estate) to find out what other people are experiencing.

I got a restored, sight-unseen razor from Whipped Dog right around Christmas (and I'm really happy with it! I would totally recommend him). I didn't necessarily shave regularly during the winter, but I've averaged at least a couple times per month (and at least once a week for the past 2 months). I recently noticed that it takes several passes to get a good shave, and that stropping only slightly improves the performance. I have a wooden strop with green and red powders applied on each side (I'm too lazy to look up their real names right now!) But at this point, that doesn't help much either. Also I just heard about the hanging hair test, and when I try with my newly-stropped razor it fails miserably--I have to tug on both sides of the hair to cut through it.

I'm pretty sure my initial stropping technique didn't help things along, but I'm wondering how 6 months compares to other people's experience. Is that fast?

I'm sending my razor off to Whipped Dog for his honing service in the next week or two because I'm not ready to try honing on my own. Hopefully I've made enough progress over the past few months that I'll be able to maintain my blade much better this time around