Originally Posted by
Durhampiper
One thing I wish I'd done when just starting out is to learn how to strop with the strop lying flat on the edge of a countertop or table at waist height. I wound up having to do this for several weeks after I'd been shaving and stropping for several months, because I nicked my hanging strop really badly and took a long time to get around to replacing it. What I found was that stropping on a flat piece of leather made me slow down, helped me master the flip, and learn what just keeping the lightest possible pressure--just enough to keep the edge in constant contact with the strop--really felt like. When I finally went back to using a hanging strop, I couldn't believe how much improved my stropping was--and I haven't nicked my strop since then.