Diamond spray

Please excuse my ignorance as I am relatively new to SR shaving, but how do you know when to strop the razor with diamond spray? I understand that the answer is probably when the razor begins to tug or pull and lose its keenness. But when you first start out and none of the shaves are truly that close to begin with as your technique slowly (at least for me very slowly) improving, is there any way to determine when the blade needs refreshing other than by stropping without any spray or paste? (I hope this is somewhat intelligible.)

Diamond sprays and other aids are optional and help especially when new as they can help prevent the need to hone as often. Unfortunately you are correct in what you say about tugging and pulling being the signs. There is a big difference, in my experience, between developing technique and a dull edge.

If you have a spray give it a try and test the feel before and after, it's all part of the development. If you feel it uncomfortable and it's still uncomfortable after the spray then its technique that's the issue. After you do this a few times you will understand when its dull.

If using the spray just go slow, try 5 laps and test, if it starts to feel better try a few more laps until its comfortable

Like the post above take it slow. Pasted strops are very effective they can help an edge as well as ruin one. It's important to start with only a few laps at a time. You can get a harsh edge with too many laps.

Another option is look for a member local to you to mentor

Just a stroke or two down the cheek would be enough to see if the razor tugs at your whiskers or kind of sinks in and glides down. If you feel that first few strokes stick or you find yourself having to apply pressure to get down the cheek and the weight of the razor is no longer sufficient then it's probably time to experiment with a few passes down the pasted strop, or sprayed. I find a good number of laps stropping on an untreated strop can be good, given you are using good technique, to maintain a fresh edge. It may be excessive but I normally strop 50 on webbing and 100 on leather before shaves.