I don't think Mark really meant up-down. You should always strop away from the edge.

Some would say that after the micro-fine ceramics, and depending on what you want to use the knife for, you need not strop at all.

Hi John,

Those are great questions.....

Hey,
I don't think Mark really meant up-down. You should always strop away from the edge. This would mean going "up" only, removing the strop form contact with the blade, bringing it down, then going up with the strop against the blade...and repeating. I use a sweeping motion away from the blade and try to cover the entire blade with one sweep. You just need to keep the strop moving up and away from the blade for the entire stroke. If you end up sliding it along the length of the blase, especially when you get near the tip, you will slice the leather. If you make ANY "down" movements ... sliding the leather into the edge, you will slice the leather.

I am one that believes that 100 strokes per side per grit gets you to a level of diminishing returns. Per my experience, and various quotes from Clay, you can get much of the benefit from stopping in a relatively few strokes. I am sorry, but for me 500 strokes per side, or 1000 strokes total is a bit intimidating, I only have so many hours per knife that I can write off to my high level of OCD

Some would say that after the micro-fine ceramics, and depending on what you want to use the knife for, you need not strop at all. Take a look at the knife database and see what lots of folks are doing just as a reference.

Of course, as with all of the technique discussions, you will find lots of different methods and theories. Try some things and see how they work for you.