Thread: narrow strop pivots and swivels while stropping

It's easy to have a slight twist in a 3 inch strop, usually because the swivel doesn't twist freely do to the pressure of pulling it tight. I find that a quick jerk at a right angle of the attachment point and then still holding it taut as I bring it back to the stropping position helps. This is with a 3 inch strop. I find it difficult to keep a blade level on a 2 inch hone, let alone trying to do x-patterns on a 2 inch strop with slack or no slack and a pivot point at the hook. I would, if you can afford the cost get a 3 inch strop and ditch the x-patterns on the strop. A lot of the more experienced users may disagree with me, but the key word is experience. When I have that, I may want to try it with a more challenging narrower strop, but I don't think so. Hope this is of some help. Howard

Ps: A lighter stroke stropping is beneficial to a sharper edge depending on the grind. More steel, maybe a little more pressure depending on the bevel.