http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=19755
http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=19559
Reading the posts above got me to thinking.
Twice in one day is tough on a guy I know, but thats what reading SRP does to ya.

I believe there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive, right now extra cash is a commodity so I do my best to try to find an inexpensive route if at all possible. If that route is not available it just takes awhile longer to get what I want.
If you want to go cheap, a zeepk razor and using hand soap would probably be the cheap route. Not a great choice, or even good, but a cheap choice, remember the adage "you get what you pay for".
Inexpensive to me would be(my guesstimates not firm costs):
finding a quality razor, ebay/flea market/b/s/t, I just read one post where someone offered a newbie a honed razor for $15 (add another $25 if the razor needed to be honed say an ebay find)
A puck of Williams, a $1
Toss it in an old coffe cup, free
Boar brush, $5.
For a strop Ive heard of people using an old belt to start with, free, or go to Tandy and get a scrap of latigo and cut it to size maybe $10
Over time these can be replaced for better items as one sees fit, but this would be an inexpensive start. About $31-$56 to start shaving. If I'm wrong anywhere please let me know

My biggest question is for maintaining the edge or starting from the beginning with another ebay find
If I buy an inexpensive razor (If I buy, ya right I'm up to 12 at last count ) how can I inexpensively sharpen it?
I've read about setting the bevel with 1K grit sandpaper and that has worked great but where do I go from there?
Is leather paddle strops or balsa a viable route to go and if so what pastes would be used and what would the progression look like?
Since I have a bunch of excess leather, that seems to be an inexpensive way for me. I also have red jewelers rouge and a white stick from Tandy they call jewelers rouge for sharpening swivel knives. I enjoy making things myself so the extra effort there is not an issue?
I did read a thread that one of the folks here was working on polishing a blade from ebay junker to mirror using only pastes and wheels, would that work for honing on strops and paddles as well?

Or are stones the only way to hone? I'm not adverse to using them, if I can get them inexpensively. I just picked up a DMT6 course bench hone for $7 so I know they can be found although not easily.
I also have what I believe to be an old barbers hone, I don't know what it was used to sharpen last but it has about a 1/16 cup in the middle so a lapping I will go.
I have tried it on a regular blade and it seems to polish the edge instead of cutting it so it appears to be a pretty fine stone.
Sorry for the long rambling, post but to summarize How do I sharpen and care for the edge of a straight correctly but inexpensively?

TIA
Bob