Well, I took another shot at it last night and the shave was just short of disastrous

I did 100 or so laps on the strop and, just to make sure, tried the HHT before shaving. Well, the blade failed the HHT at the end (toe? tip? point? the proper word escapes me right now) and got an occasional pass at the middle and heel. I also tried the popping some arm hairs and got the same result. I probably should have put the razor down at that point and called it a night, but I am pretty stubborn.

So I gave it my best effort and right off the bat I could tell that the end of the blade was significantly less sharp than the middle and heel. I was able to do one full pass shaving with just the heel and middle of the blade but it was mighty uncomfortable. I got about half way through my second pass when I decided that I had had enough and finished with the DE.

After the shave, the dram of 'The Glenlivet' I had enjoyed earlier in the night finally started to effect my judgement (some may argue that it actually impaired my judgement to shave at all ) when I decided to go with the Booster aftershave. Well, it contained alcohol and reminded me of how much I still have to learn!

Anyways, any suggestions on how to proceed? Does this sound like a case where a simple refresh on the pasted bench strop would suffice or is it necessary to hit the stones?

Again, thanks to everybody for helping me through this. This whole straight shaving thing can be frustrating but I know that it will make reaching the goal all that much sweeter!