I'll relate my experience.
I learned to shave with a straight razor at a mountain men rendezvous. A friend has been doing the living history thing for some time, and he took me to one of their events. One of the old-timers was giving a demonstration. I took up straight razors shortly thereafter.
First off, toss the strop paste. It's not that big of a help. Next, take that mug and brush from your dad. I use Williams shaving soap, and I think it provides the best lubrication. YMMV on that one, but canned foams and gels will not cut it (no pun intended) with a straight razor. The idea is to have something that will break the surface tension on the hair and allow the water to soften it up. Foam just won't do. Dry shaving is something akin to sanding your face with dragon skin, and plain water won't stick to your skin or penetrate the hair, so it's not much of an improvement.
Strop the blade every time, first with a canvas strop, followed by a leather strop. The one you ordered looks fine for now, but you'll probably want a canvas side at some point. Always roll the razor on its back at the end of each stroke. Do NOT pick it up off the strop and whip it with your wrist. You will put a roll in the edge, which will take your face right off, and you'll dice up the strop. At all times, the rib along the back of the blade should be in contact with the strop just like the edge. More on that later. There are varying schools of thought on stropping. I like to do it ~10 times for each side. The idea is not to sharpen the blade, but to line up the microscopic serrations in the edge, thus giving you a smoother shave with less burn. You'll figure out just how you like it with some practice.
Then, say a quick prayer, soap up, and start shaving. You hold the razor like you've seen it in the movies, but you don't shave like they do. What you heard about short, easy strokes is exactly right. Until you get the hang of it, your strokes shouldn't be longer than 1/8". When I do it, my strokes are only maybe 1/4", and I'm getting good at it. Start by shaving the sideburns on your weak side. It's the easiest place to get to with your strong hand, and it's a relatively flat surface. As you move on to other areas, you'll need to learn to stretch the skin flat to get a better shave. You'll develop that over time. In my experience, you don't need to pay too much attention to the angle of the blade. It should be shallower than 45 degrees to the face, but not too shallow, or you'll pull the hair. Usually, your brain just *does it* with the blade angle. I suspect it's something inherent to the design of the razor. You do need to pay attention to how you move the blade. Perpendicular to the edge at all times. No angle, no motion down the length of the blade. Nice and easy, straight up and down. Contrary to popular comedic belief, your life insurance is not likely to pay out because you shave with a straight razor. It is easy to cut yourself, but it is extremely difficult to penetrate more than the first layers of skin. A razor cannot slice deeply without significant force applied to it because the whole point is to minimize serrations in the edge. You will also involuntarily jump if you cut yourself, and your brain will make you pull the edge away from your face.
As you shave, you will need to clean the edge. Running water is the best way to go. A wet washcloth will work if you're careful, but water will keep you from accidentally dulling the edge. Do keep a washcloth handy, and wipe your face every half inch of shaving. Do keep in mind that you will remove more hide than hair the first few times. It isn't all that painful when you start, but it will wake you up when you splash on aftershave.
When you're done, rinse off the razor, close it up, and leave it for at least 48 hours. It needs to rest or the edge will fail. People who shave daily will usually have two or more razors for this reason. You'll also need a honing stone at some point. There's an Austrian manufacturer that makes them, but I forget the name. It looks like a big ceramic tile. You wet it down with water, lay the blade flat on its side (the aforementioned rib at the back of the blade is the angle guide for sharpening!), and stroke it across the stone 6-8 times on each side. Do not alternate. Do this when the seasons change... actually, do it less frequently than that unless you shave frequently. More than 4 times per year is oversharpening.
Always use bay rum for an aftershave. That's not advice, it is one of the commandments of straight razor shaving. Nothing else will do.
Best of luck to you, and do let us know how it goes.
