Yes thats the pyramid. I don't think you need to re invest. I don't want to be picky but you may want to repost and ask more clear questions. Rambling tends to produce poor answers. I don't think you need a canvas strop.

I agree with Lynn about using less strokes (like anybody cares).

For me Rich its because its easier and less risky to make 1-3 runs down the hone than any greater number. For each pass I have a good shot at screwing it up but if I focus on 3 good passes I'm less likely to screw up one. Or as Vlad once said, 1 bad pass on the hone takes 5 passes to repair. At your skill level none of that may make any sense. But thats why I use as few passes as possible. :-)

I'm sure Lynn was referring to something else but I thought I'd share my agreement....