Finally got my first strop, stropped my new razor and nicked it three times. Very minor nicks that are on the edge. I don't expect it to hurt performance, but it was discouraging nonetheless. I'm finding using an "X" pattern on my thin 2" strop is much more difficult than I anticipated. I find that it wobbles the strop from side to side and it doesn't feel like I'm able to keep the blade perfectly flat... especially when I get to the tip of the blade. Any sage advice from some experienced folk would be much appreciated. I'm glad my strop was only 13 bucks.