I think I'm with Ivo in that the quality of the shave doesn't change so much as the feeling of the blade on my skin. Without a few licks on the strop mid-shave, the edge definitely starts to feel scratchy, and I can feel my neck in particular getting raw. It's a weird sensation that I've tried to describe before and failed.

The best way I can put it is that the edge starts to feel thin. When the razor is well stropped, the whole blade feels solid to me, like I'm running a smooth ruler over my face. When the edge degrades, I become aware of the edge itself and it starts to feel like a tin can lid.

I've come to realize that pulling (and, for the most part) hair removal are more influenced by my technique--pressure, blade direction and angle--than by the mid-shave stropping. I never used to be able to go against the grain under my chin, but since I started using less pressure I'm able to do that. The razor would pull horribly under my chin and dig in, but when I dropped the spine onto my skin and used a light touch, it worked.

But a mid-shave stropper I shall always be.

Josh