I got my first straight last week. I don't have a strop yet, but one is on the way. In the mean time what should I use in the mean time till my strop arrives? I have ready anything from legal pads to newspaper to leather belts can be used. What is the best of these, and how many round trip passes do I need to make with each? Thanks in advance
A leather belt can be used exactly like a strop (as long it's plain and doesn't have any studs or other ornaments). 10-15 round trips would suffice. I never tried newspaper, but I guess the same number of round trips will do nicely until your strop arrives.
I would go the plain leather belt route and forget newspaper et. al. - use the shiny side of a belt and take it easy on the strokes, testing every five or so. You may be surprised at the finish you can obtain!
the leather belt seems to put a nice polish pack on the blade edge I can see the difference. I haven't been able to find much info on proper stropping technique, just a lot of, it's easy to over strop, and stropping is the biggest thing newbie's mess up. I looked on SRP, and tried to download one of the docs, but it wouldn't open. any other sources or advice to stropping properly?
As long as you're using the proper technique and a non-pasted strop, over-stropping really isn't an issue. You can strop until the cows come home and the only thing you'll get is a nice edge. That being said, if you're stropping improperly you'll end up doing your edge more harm than good. SRP has a whole section dedicated to strops and stropping, you can find it here. Just keep the strop reasonably taught (it doesn't have to be perfectly straight throughout the stroke, a little flex helps the entire edge stay in contact), and use just enough pressure to keep your spine and edge flat on the surface. But above all, do not let the spine come off the strop before the edge does or you run the risk of "rolling the edge", which cannot be corrected on the strop and will require another honing. When you get to the end of your stroke, simply roll the razor over on its spine and continue in the other direction. In the beginning, stropping used to make me nervous about ruining my edge, but now that I've gotten comfortable with it I find it very enjoyable and relaxing. I'll often do 100 strokes or more before a shave.
