Originally Posted by
Siguy
Hi PCM and welcome.
Well, there is a lot here. I may not hit all the bullet points, but I'm sure the fellas will.
Concerning the above statement: I am one of those who bought a board strop 3" from Glen (gssixgun) and swear by it to this day. Originally, I have a 3" hanging strop, but discovered that it had a defect. Now it and it's hanging felt counterpart have CrOx on them. The 3" strop also removed the need to learn the X-stroke right away. While it is a skill that you will need eventually(another contentious firestarter in and of itself), you don't need that variable steepening the learning curve in the beginning.
The board strop does help remove some of the beginning difficulties in stropping, in my experience. The twisting, cupping, etc.
As per refreshing an edge honed by Lynn, I'd double check with him about the last stone in came off of during the honing process. Usually, if CrOx doesn't get your blade to sing again, you can pull out the stone (say, a Nani 12K) and do a few strokes like Lynn on his video. Literally, only takes a few strokes. I definitely would not go down to the 8K level to do a refresh of a blade honed by Lynn. While a person could shave comfortably of an 8K all their lives, most honemeisters bring their edge up to a higher grit for their customers.
As per the shiny spot, if you look top down and the edge of the razor with the edge facing your eyes and the spine farthest away, shine light on the it, do you see and shiny spots as your eyes run along its edge?