Originally Posted by
timberrr59
I did the same to my Grandfather's Shumate (Austin, Tx pre-1904) strop. 'Thought I was gonna die! I sanded nicks and re-glued a slice at the top of the finish strop and everything was OK again.
EVERY time I strop, the first couple of strokes are in ULTRA SLOW Motion just to get the "feel" of what is happening. I gently increase the speed until it is smooth and automatic. Another very important thing: Keep the mind clear! Turn off all distractions and noises, including thinking about money, sex, politics, and creation of the universe, etc. One nano second of mind drift is all it takes to screw up a strop, honing, or a shave! Keep the mind centered. It finally worked for me (most difficult thing I ever did to date).