Quote Originally Posted by Knife View Post
Is linen better?
That is also a difficult question to answer. Some feel that linen is slightly more abrasive than cotton and prefeer it for that reason. Most of the cotton strops have a "hard" surface finish and a nubby, bumpier texture - not unlike the weave of a fire hose. I prefer the linen only because the razor doesn't make as mush noise on it as compared to the cotton. And that's the best reason I can come up with for using one rather than the other. I have no way to defend selection process of one rather than the other, but the cotton strop to my ears seems to make about a 40 grit whistle.

We have some honemeisters among our group here, maybe there are also some stropmeisters here who can provide a better answer. That cotton stuff has been in use for years, so it must be just a fine medium for helping to set the edge for a fine shave. I simply like the linen better.