I disagree. The stone and strop were deliberately made narrower to force the x pattern, which has more with momentum and distribution of weight and force and straightness of the edge than with length of the blade.
Do a little research on the forum, there is plenty of discussion on this topic.
On the forums being cluttered lately, I don't mind a little off topic discussion, or a good joke, but I really don't care about Paris Hilton being discussed here...
Nenad