I strop just before shaving.
I cannot tell you how many times I have honed a razor, that was popping arm hair all the way up the progression and after the finish stone, nothing. TPT the edge and no doubt it is super sharp.
Strop that puppy on clean plain leather and the same edge is popping all day long.
Now, I am NOT a proponent of hair test, but I suspect what happens is the real edge, the part we cannot see except with 1000+ magnification is that it is slightly bent away, from the skin in this case, from the final honing lap. It probably does not take that much to bend an edge.
Stropping in addition to polishing the edge, straightens it.
Additionally, oxidation is a constant, and begins immediately after honing or stropping. The most pristine edge would be immediately after the bevel was stropped.