As I said in another post, I'm new to this whole straight razor thing. I recently bought a CF Wolfertz straight razor in an antique shop for $12. I've cleaned it up a bit and I have a few questions:

1. I cleaned and sanded the blade, but I didn't feel the need to polish it to a mirror shine. I pretty much got the dirt off, removed the rust, sanded off the blemishes (except for one on the spine and another on the tip) and then used steel wool followed by metal polishing compound to polish it to a smooth light-gunmetal finish with a nice shine. The actual shaving edge is clean. Aesthetically, I like the look. But, is it an acceptable way to finish a blade for shaving? Basically, do I have to put the effort into making it look like a new blade or is that unnecessary?

2. When I bought the razor, it actually had a nice edge. All the cleaning of the blade itself has dulled the edge. Is that normal? If so, I believe I can bring the edge back with a 4000/8000 waterstone. Will that work for me? I've sharpened knives before and read a few articles/watched a few videos on razor honing so I'm confident I can get the job done.

Now, I just have to save the money for a waterstone. And a strop. I'll get there.