Hi there, I'm new to straight shaving, got into it by finding a razor at a flea market. A local member gave me his old Poor Man's Strop from when he was new. The strop was nicked and cut up pretty bad, so I sanded it to smooth it a little, and sanded the back side of the strop a little. I've been primarily using the back side to strop, thinking it may work like a linen strop since the texture is rougher. Then I finish it on the smooth side, but I still worry that the nicks and cuts in it could harm the edge. I can't sand them out, because they are too deep. Any thoughts on this being OK for my Razor? Also how much pressure do you use when stropping? I plan on getting a better strop when I get more experience.

So far, it seems to be working well though. The initial act of stropping took a little getting used to, but I seem to have got the hang of it; still haven't nicked it. When I got my razor honed, I didn't think it was shave ready; it passed the HHT only about 20% of my attempts to test it. After about of week of stropping and shaving, the blade now seems much sharper. It easily passes the HHT every time.