In my experience, if I shave straight off an 8K hone (only if I do a decent job honing), and never strop the razor, my first shave feels pretty decent. With the second shave however, there seems to be a big drop in effectiveness of the razor from the first shave. The third shave seems to be the same or slightly less the same as the second, and it slowly diminishes after that.

I've read that if you don't strop, the carbon steel forms a thin layer of oxide and gives a worse shave. Do you think this is the explanation for the very noticeable drop in effectiveness from the first to the second shave? Do you have similar experiences if you don't strop?