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What to do in the meantime?

I just bought my first straight, a 5/8 stamped Wapienica, and am dying to use it. But my wife is reigning in my shaving purchases for the time being, due to the holidays approaching, and has told me she will get me a nice strop for Christmas. But what do I do in the meantime? Does anybody know of any alternatives? Is there something cheap I can get in the meantime to tide me over?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Well.... Not sure if this is recommended or not, and don't take my word for it, since I am a newbie.

But I forgot to pack my strop when I moved recently, so I just stropped on a smooth leather belt for a few weeks. It actually worked fine. Obviously narrower than a strop, but that did not seem to create a problem. Just had to be sure to do a nice X pattern.

-Mo
 
I've heard of some people using newspaper on a flat surface, or the cardboard back of a notebook.

If however you want something better, Tony Miller's starting strop for $28.95 is made with the same leather as his more expensive strops. I don't know if this would get you into trouble though.
 
Tony's starters are great.You would still want to practice on it, otherwise you may slice you new highest end TM strop the first time you use it and it will break your heart!

In a pinch - the leather belt will work just fine. Careful with pressure, though - more of it can lead to more damage on a narrow strop than on a wide one. For the record, EU paddle strops are very narrow - 1.5" or less, very often.

Good luck
Ivo
 
A belt, newspaper, or if you have a tandy leather store near you, they have strips of leather that are for making belts, but would work okay.
 
I've been using scrap upholstery leather for a while now and have been happy with the results. I think just about anything will do, so long as you have a rough side.
 
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