I am new to straights and have not even tried one yet. They are in the mail along with a strop. I have a couple of concerns about stropping. I have read that some members strop on a pasted linen/surface (5 strops), then an untreated linen (20 strops), and then finish on leather (50 strops). From my understanding, they do this every day.

I contacted Tony Miller about his strops. I noticed that his description of his artisan line stated that it did not need any paste added. I was looking at the cheaper chocolate strop and inquired if I would need to purchase paste to use that strop, since his description on that strop made no references to pastes. His response:

"Gabriel
Thanks for the email. Pastes are not suggested for any daily use strop and should only be used occasionally when the razors edge no longer responds to daily stropping on plain leather. Basically pastes act like a mild hone and remove metal which would be too aggressive for every day use. Plain leather aligns the already sharp edge vefore each shave
Hope this helps
Tony"

I understand that pastes are abrasive. Viewing videos from Portland Razor Co. they recommend stropping on a pasted surface only after you are very comfortable with your technique. They state that beginners can easily ruin a razor if they improperly strop on a pasted surface. So, beginners stay away. So after my long story, here are my questions.

1. How often would I need to use a pasted strop? After how many uses?
2. Would I ever need to use a pasted strop? Or can I send my straights in to be honed again?
3. If I pastes one side of a linen strop, will the paste bleed through to the other side? Essentially would I need a strop just for paste?
4. Can I add paste to an old leather belt to use as a pasted strop? Or does it have to be linen?
5. I've read that I will probably ruin/nick my first strop. So I ended up buying a used Straight Razor Designs strop. Retail was $65. Is this any good? Should I eventually upgrade to a Tony Miller? Or is that even an upgrade?

I sincerely appreciate any feedback and insight any members may provide.