Before starting honing razors I never worried about counting laps whether that was sharpening a knife or sanding or polishing. But then....1....2...3...40 linen 1...2....3....4......5.......65 leather.

Is there a magic number, I thought, like 39? 39 laps and it’s not good but 40 it is! No. It was a guide to use as a beginner. The problem is I was subconsciously counting instead of paying full attention to what I was doing.

When honing, I long ago stopped counting and just went until it passed whatever test I was using (AHT,TPT,HHT) and I was able to focus more on getting contact with the whole edge, pressure, etc.

So, I timed myself while stropping and found I average 2 laps a second. Then I started stropping paying attention to what I was doing. When it felt like I had stropped long enough I looked at the clock and determined how many laps I made (usually right around 40/65 as I normally did). Then I quickly transitioned to the final step of just stropping with no mind of time or laps.

When I do double check I am usually doing more than enough and it is freeing not to have to worry about XX linen and XX leather. I just strop and focus on what I am doing. VERY FREEING.

I can see counting laps as being useful to beginners. A sort of training wheels. But at some point, for me, it became counter productive. Just my 2¢.