Hi Hackman & welcome to SRP. You seem to have gotten a lot of good advice so far so just absorb all you can in the Library starting with the Beginners Guide & go from there. As for strops, you can get an whatever suits your budget but the ones from SRD offer a replacement when you cut one by accident. You can also practice with a butterknife so you can prevent cutting your strop & also dulling a good edge on a razor. You will eventually get the hang of it & the more you practice, the better. Just be patient & take your time. You can also look up Lynn Abrams on Youtube & watch his video's on there. Great to have you here. Any questions just ask.
Good luck my friend.