Thread: Strop guidance

My father picked up a strop in an antique store a long time ago thinking he would try shaving with a straight. He never did. He lives across the country and I'm trying to decide if I should use this pigskin strop he has or not. It looks rough to me, but he says it has no deep cuts or abrasions. I'm not so sure about that looking at the pictures... it looks like someone really didn't know how to strop!

What do you all recommend doing - using this strop or buying a new one? I don't want to mess up my first razors because I'm being cheap. Maybe I can give this strop a little love to make it usable? I'm going to be travelling/living out of the country, using a normal barbers hone I got from Glen along with the strop to maintain my four blades, so what I choose will be "long term".

Any advice is appreciated!!