well being new to this and trying to save a buck where i could i went with a 2" .. well it never felt right holding it and i noticed i kept finding myself almost twisting the strop ( slightly ) and didnt feel i had it down just right ..well i had a few nicks in it from my first stropping attempt ( dont ask cause how i did it is to embarrassing) and was gonna go the cheap route again and get a replacement piece ... then i thought !! why not just buy a 3" and get it over with ?? well i did today at Imperial Shave and i wanna say as a beginner my opinion to another beginner is just get the 3" from the start !!! it felt awesome in my hands and during my stropping !!! and you know my effectiveness of my stropping made a big difference on my razors as well .! i dont know if it is a mental thing or less of an x stroke made me more efficient or what but my opinion ( even though not of experienced knowledge ) from being the new guy and finding this out is ....... spend the few extra bucks and get the bigger of the two ...