Originally Posted by
Mijbil
A japanese stone expert (he wishes to remain nameless) was recently telling me that he thinks strops erase the "signature" of a good finishing stone, and recommended using (dried) slurry from the finishing stone on your palm and stropping with that. He also thinks linen and fabric are far too coarse for truly delicate edges. In my experience, stropping correctly on (proper) leather and linen does not degrade even the sharpest edges, but I can't speak as much to the issue of the "signature."
One problem with hand-stropping is that it's a very short surface - you have to do it a billion times.
As for travelling - I figure since I'm knee-deep in hones, strops, razors and everything else in my house I can manage a strop when I travel. Though I dont I have it, I dig the idea of that T-I paddle-strop.