Today I tried out the arching motion that honedright seems to use in his video. It works really well for me. I was able to use less pressure, keep the razor flat more easily, and feel more drag. Cool.

I think this is also one of the secrets to eventually developing some speed.

Before, I was doing X-patterns. But toward the end of each stroke I found it was harder to keep the razor flat. (I don't ever lift the spine, but sometimes the edge lifts off, which makes stropping pretty pointless.)

Today I was still using X-patterns, but I pivoted my arm at the elbow as I stroked, so the razor took a sweeping, curving path across the leather. It's a little hard to describe; watch the stropping video in this thread to see what I'm talking about.

Thanks, honedright!

Josh