How frequently should you hone a razor?

I just got bit by the straight razor bug, so I'm looking for reasons to own lots of them. I'm thinking that I can explain to The Wife that multiple razors are needed to accommodate down time for honing.

So I can get my story straight (no pun intended), how many shaves do you go through between honing? Assume religious stropping and tender care of the razors.

It depends on various factors: Steel, stropping, your technique.

If you have a softer steel, it will need to be honed more often, if you don't strop enough or at all, it will dull quicker/quickly, if you do 1 pass vs. 3 passes, if you shave and leave a goatee vs. full face shave...

On average, some say around 20 shaves. I have a straight that went up to 18 shaves 3 passes. Another one, around 40 shaves. I try to keep a counter on my straights so I know how many times I used them between honing, so far, all different.

That makes sense. I'll probably have to hone more often. I have a mustache and goatee, but I shave my head. I haven't started doing my head with the straight yet, but I'm looking forward to it. That first head shave is gonna take a while!

This applies mostly to razors with a nice straight edge, not smileys. If you regularly strop on a pasted paddle and then on an unpasted paddle, you can go quite a long time between honings. Be aware that overstropping on a pasted paddle can sometimes result in a fin edge that is initially sharp but quickly degrades. The cure is a couple dozen laps on the 4K and then a few dozen more on your finisher. For daily use, a couple dozen laps on a pasted paddle is usually more than enough. If you are a compulsive stropper, spend the extra time on unpasted leather.

Without using abrasive pastes, I would probably average 30 to 40 shaves between touchups on a finishing stone. If you strop carefully and never ding up the edge, you can go indefinitely without ever going to your bevel setter.