Reply by Infernal2

For a cheap alternative, baby oil works pretty darn well. As others have said, the oil isn’t so much a lubricant as a way to keep your stones (or sandpaper if you go that route) free of the path of what you are sharpening. I like the honing compound and sandpaper personally but for primary bevels I use a simple coarse stone (I am paranoid about bench grinders and too cheap to buy a Tormek).

As to a leather strop… Well, I’ve never used one on a chisel or an iron but they work really well on my shaving razor so I imagine…. they’d work well.