Thread: strop substitute equivalents??/ first partial shave down!

Well thanks to a generous member's donation, I was able to get my very first (partial) straight shave done today, and ......what a thrill! I can't tell you how great it felt for me to just hear that sound.....oh, that sound! The one I always anticipated when making a trip to the barber. The sound of the straight shaving off the hair. I love that sound. Good thing I don't have narcolepsy or something, because it's so relaxing at the barber's that I often drift off for a bit. With the razor in my own hand though, I was very much awake. And loved every second of it.....all of the 5 or so seconds it took, to do just one side. It wasn't the closest shave I have ever had, but it was certainly the most fun I have ever had shaving. ( I tend to hate it, because I always always get ingrown hairs. Always.)

Now, since I'm trying to do it "right", as per Lynn's advice ( I know, can you believe it? with all my enthusiasm about shaving this way, you'd think I would ignore sage advice and just go for the whole face. 12 hours later, I did do it "my way" a bit, by shaving a bit of the dominant side of my throat, but that is only because I am more comfortable shaving that area then say...my chin, where I tend to get the most ingrowns and end up breaking out. I'm still finishing up, with the dreaded mach 3. I'm seriously considering a DE as my finishing up tool, until I am proficient with the SE and honing them).

So now that I have had two partial shaves ( I did shave the side burn area one more time after I went for part of the throat area) and I have no hone or strop, I am wondering if I can shave with this razor again without stropping? The member who donated the blade was also kind enough to hone and strop it for me and instructed me that I need not strop it for my first shave. If it's not a good idea for me to keep shaving, what acts as a substitute for leather as a finisher? I have been advised that old jeans can act as the canvas side of a strop, but is there anything that acts as the leather side? Is that newspaper? Or is there something that is smoother that I can use until I can afford a strop?

I'd really like to keep at it, instead of taking a long break between shaves. Thanks in advance. And a great big thanks to Ben.