Originally Posted by
chilira
While I think my technique is solid, it's tough to tell for sure. I'm using an Illinois strop #127. My stropping technique is similar to my honing with the obvious exception -- blade facing away from me. X-pattern, keep the blade flat, little and consistent pressure throughout each stroke. This sounds good, but you also have to move it pretty quickly when stropping for it to be effective. Much faster than when honing.
With honing and stropping, I'm keeping the blade completely flat. Should I use a shallow angle (5 to 10 degrees)? NO!!!!
I tried 30 passes on the 4000 side, then stropped 30-40 times (linen first then leather). No improvement.