I'm a little confused by this thread, but that may have to do with my lack of expert knowledge.

I always thought the traditional explanation of plain stropping is that it smooths the edge, in other words aligns the "teeth" formed at the very edge by any honing medium's scratch pattern.

That it isn't abrasive enough to remove material would seem to be evidenced by the fact that no plain strop, no matter how old or how much it's been used, is darkened by steel particles the way pasted strops are. At least no plain strop I've ever laid eyes on.

The very edge of a well-honed razor is very thin and delicate, by definition. Just how delicate will vary according to the properties of the steel and the skill of the honer.

We can choose to think of this most delicate area, these teeth that get distorted or frayed by shaving, as a thing unto itself and name it a fin. Or we can think of it as simply part of the bevel, the most delicate part, and not call it anything special. But these are linguistic and conceptual choices, not empirical questions about whether something exists or is "magic." Right? Or am I missing something about the stakes of this discussion?