Sooo... I shaved with a Dovo I bought from The Art of Shaving for about 2 months, and put a bunch of nicks in my strop, plus, had people give me crap for not using strop paste. I stopped for a few months and am ready to get back on the horse. I am planning on getting my razor proffesionally honed so I know what a shave ready razor should feel like. Having said that, I have two general questions.


1.) I want to purchase a set of naniwa 5k, 8k, and 12k wet stones so I can learn to hone myself. I would love opinions on how often i should need to hone if i am stropping correctly, and if I should use each stone every time, or just the 12k for touching up until i need more work.

2.) I understand correct stropping technique in genereal, but what are some opinions on the correct use of strop paste? Normally I would shave every other day and use the cloth, then leather right before my shave. Should I just condition the leather? Should i put past on the opposide side of the leather and canvas? How often should I ust the paste? OR... if i have a 12k hone, is strop past even nessesary?

Thanks for taking the time to help and i look forward to all your help!