Thread: I need guidance for my first strop purchase!

Greetings SRP!

I just started straight shaving since Dec 30th. My girlfriend bought me a kit for my birthday from the Art of Shaving. I've been extremely excited to gain proficiency at the art of straight shaving. My current blade says Soligen, Germany. This is a good brand from what I've read. Although I don't know the dimension of it, 3/4th in or what not.

I have 3-4 attempts under my belt thus far. But I have realized that I have no strop and from what I've gathered, most shavers strop before or after a shave (or both) and I have yet to strop, since I don't have one. I've been poking around on the forums for the past few days and reading the wiki. I'm not sure if my blade came "Shave ready" as they say. I decided to try the Hanging hair test and my blade didn't cut (I saw what its suppose to look like on youtube). Today I tried stropping on the soft side of an old leather belt my brother gave me.

So I was hoping to turn to the community for Strop recommendations as a beginner. I've already seen a video by a SRP member with a red shirt on how to strop (lead with the spine, flip your blade up and away from the strop instead of into it). I've read that I should buy an inexpensive or practice strop since I've read that I'm likely to cut/nick it during my learning process before committing to a more expensive strop. Anyhow, I'm looking for a recommendation or a website where I can get one. I've been reading Tony Miller starter strops are good but I'm not able to find a website where to purchase one . I was also considering buying one from the classified section as well. Anyhow, any tips/insights would be GREATLY appreciated.