Thread: Stropping one direction at a time

I think it is better to do conventional laps, but it is probably not 100% necessary.

I have a theory that stropping is a bit like using an electrical degausser. It uses AC current to magnetize in one direction, then the other. As you move it slowly away from the object to be demagnetized, the reduced field strength means the object becomes magnetized by smaller and smaller amounts around the "zero point."

In a similar way, I think stropping bends the edge slightly past the straightest position. Then you flip it over and the edge bends back the opposite way. If you make the strokes lighter and lighter, the edge gets closer and closer to perfect straightness.

If my theory is right, then doing 10 strokes in the same direction will do little more than a single stroke, so is a waste of effort.

But it's just a theory, no real basis to it.