First, thanks for setting up such a cool and helpful community. I've been lurking for a while and I've found loads of useful information here. I have a new situation that I'm hoping someone has an answer to.

A few weeks ago, I bought my first straight razor - a T-I from AOS. I had been shaving with it for a couple of weeks, and on the day I finally felt like I had the hang of it - I had a smooth 2-pass shave with no nicks - I dinged the blade on my faucet while going in for a rinse. Nothing huge, but enough that I could see it up close, hear the difference on the strop, and was just not going to drag it across my face.

I called the AOS on Madison Ave., and they recommended that I take it to Henry Westpfal & Co. (mentioned elsewhere on this site) to have the defect ground out. I did so, got the blade back and it looked good - the ding was gone, edge looked straight & mirror-shiny.

When I got it home, it was a different story. The blade was far, far duller than when I put it in their hands. It's just not taking the hair off my face. Stropping does not seem to help.

Can anyone recommend a blade shop or honemeister in NYC, preferably one that does the work on the premises? Westpfal claims that they guarantee their work, but I'm wary of taking the blade back just to have more metal ground off and get the same poor result.

Also, is there any chance I'm doing something wrong? I'm following the same steps that worked before I brought it in (preparing my face, 20 passes each way on the strop). I'm not sure what I could be missing here, if the blade is really sharp and shave-ready.

Thanks in advance for your help.