Welcome to SRP. To answer a few of your questions: If the razor you purchased has be honed by hand then there is no need to strop before your first shave. Just wipe the oil off the blade and have at it. I suspect though you may need to have the razor professionally honed by someone who knows what they're doing. Check member services in the classifieds for a member who can hone your razors for you. Hold off on strop pastes at least for a while. You should strop your razor before each shave, but like learning to shave with a straight razor, proper stropping techinque takes time as well. It is very easy to ruin a "shave ready" edge due to poor stropping. As for a time period to have your blade rehoned, that can vary with proper maintenence,(stropping) and care of your razor. I hope this helps.