I've been looking into the how-to's on classic shaving website,
specifically on strops. There is a section on the different types of
strops and the one that seems most popular is the Russian/Cowhide. It
goes on to explain how to "break one in":

1. Rub dry pumice stone over the strop in order to remove the outer
nap and develop a smooth surface.
2. Rub stiff lather into the strop.
3. Rub dry pumice stone over the strop until smooth.
4. Clean off the strop.
5. Rub fresh stiff lather into the strop.
6. Rub a smooth glass bottle over the strop several times until a
smooth surface is developed.

Does this need to be done with off the shelf strops? Not that I'm lazy
or anything but I don't have a pumice stone, what is a nap, and what
is stiff lather anyway?