+1 on the palm of the hand for treating the strop. After the shave I like to strop the razor about 20 strokes on leather following rinsing and drying on a tissue. I do wipe the razor with a rust preventative on a gun cloth. An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure and I store my razors out of the humidity of the bathroom.

Nothing wrong with lathering on the puck but just for kicks take a cereal bowl or something similar and load the brush on the puck and then lather in the bowl adding a dribble of water as necessary and I believe you'll find that you can generate a lot more thick and creamy lather than what you are used to.