Thanks for everyone's advice - in the end I decided to go affordable on my first straight and bought a Henckels Platinum 401 from the classifieds:
Henckels Platinum 401 - Straight Razor Place Classifieds
This way I can learn to strop and hone without worrying too much about causing damage...now...to research those items!
For Stropping, I am pretty sure I'm going to start with the basic SRD paddle. For honing, I am about to embark on trying to figure out the best bang for your buck stones to purchase...any guidance there is appreciated!