I'm new here, having started razor shaving only four months ago. I bought the Ralf Aust from SRD, and it came shave ready. I strop 100 complete (back and forward) turns after every shave. When the blade started pulling a little, I applied chromium oxide paste to the backside of my fabric strop and stropped seven complete turns, per instructions. Wow, it was sharper than when out of the box from SRD.
I have stropped the paste one more time, with the same results.
My question: Does leather stropping and occasional paste refreshing eliminate the need for honing?