Do yourself a favor and read the 1961 barber manual excerpt on honing and stropping here . The last couple of pages are on stropping. Note the suggestion to practice flipping the blade between the tips of the thumb and forefinger . Follow what they say and take it slow and easy. I would say 30 linen and 30 leather should be good but don't start until you feel good with flipping the blade and only apply pressure on the spine as you flip the blade.