Do I really need strop paste?
Hey there, my first post here! Been watching for a few weeks and recently registered. I already read the wiki about finishing pastes but it still left me wondering if I really needed them so... on to the question... I was given a very nice "combo" vintage horsehide + linen strop from a retired barber. Being a very close friend of the family, I want to keep this as "memorabilia" and in its "unpasted" state. But do I really need pastes? I already have the very popular 220/1k/4k/8k Norton stones. I already got the Dovo black/red paste from open_razor but... my dog ate 2 packs of it... all that's remaining now is a mangled red pack... :( :P Could I use newspapers in place of let's say... .5 micron paste?
Else I guess I'll just make another one out of old jeans. :D
Thanks for your answers!