Thanks all for your experiences on the fine art of knife sharping. I greatly appreciate the input and love learning new techniques. When I picked up the ceramic rod kit, I also picked up a strop with a compound. If I was at home, I would give the name of the compound. The strop is a rough side out lamb skin glued onto a holding 10"x1.5" piece of wood. When stropping do I need to be concerned about the number of swipes back and forth? If the blades were low $$$ I would not ask but these are my Yard, Rat, and soon to be Busse blades. Thanks again folks.