Hi, this is my first post, but I've been going through the wiki for a few days now, and I have a question about pasted strops.

In the wiki, it says these are the disadvantages of pasted strops:
  1. Once the bevel is arc shaped, the very edge can no longer make contact with the flat surface of a hone. Not without resetting the bevel first. Hence one cannot touch up a pasted razor with a hone.
  2. Since the abrasion is done with the edge trailing on pasted strops, the very tip of the bevel will be composed of bur-like steel, which isn't as durable. It depends a bit on the abrasive medium used, but in any case, part of the obtained keenness will disappear within very few shaves. The wow-effect of a pasted edge usually lasts but one or two shaves.
  3. With each touch-up the edge becomes more arc-shaped. One can try to avoid that, but that also robs the process of its main advantages. In the end, the arc become so rounded, that the shaving comfort will be seriously compromised, and a lot of work to recreate flat bevel panes will be needed.
Given this information, I don't really know why a person would use a pasted strop. It seems like it hurts your edge in the long run and creates the need for some serious honing.

I've heard people say that it's cheaper, but unless you make a strop yourself, the cheapest strop I've seen is $20 which just happens to be the cost of a Chinese 12k or a barber hone on eBay.

From what I've read, using a hone for touch-ups can make an edge last for years, but using a pasted strop means that it will inevitably need to be sent to a honemeister. Assuming that the cost of lapping the hone and pasting the strop will roughly equal out, the pasted strop seems like it would cost more in the long run because of the trips to the honemeister.

I'm sure I'm missing a piece of the puzzle, but why would you choose a pasted strop over a barber hone or Chinese 12k???