thanks for all the replies.

I see that I am not alone in longer strokes. I also see the idea of buffing and/or redepositing the lather on the return strokes. I think that is what I was missing in looking at this way of doing things. I have read about stropping in the middle of a shave and basically my face is leather so now I know how to do it!

here is a video for example that is not to the extreme but may show why i used the term chopping.

Straight Razor shaving demo