Quote Originally Posted by jendeindustries View Post
I'm not looking to start a debate, I was simply musing on the fact that a couple of touch up passes on 30K stone - natural or synthetic - could arguably be used in place of stropping. IMHO, the moment you use diamond pastes on a strop, even .25 micron as finite an amount as it may be, is still removing metal.

I just though it was funny how FloorPizza advocated the strop at the very moment in time when I was questioning its usefulness!
Ahhh! No debate my friend; Modern abrasives have come a hell-of-a-long way… maybe surpassing many of the best hones of yesteryear (believe me, I say that with trepidation) And I would probably agree stropping may not be necessary after a 30K (again with trepidation).

But I pinch myself when I remember how a razor’s edge looks after the shave.

I forgot where it is, but there was a post with a link to an old magazine article of a study on a razor edge after the shave and then after a stropping, there are a few microscope photos as well…. very interesting reading. I will post the link again if I find it.