It takes a sequence of grit in progression on stones and strops to produce a mirror shine, AND maintain the integrity of the cutting edge while doing so. Stropping by itself usually won't be aggressive enough to remove & replace a coarser (factory) finish. And attempting to do so will likely round off a sharp cutting edge as well, if stropping is done to excess, in pursuit of the mirror.
As an example, if starting at something like a 220/320-grit finish (approximates a lot of factory edges), a sequence on stones or sandpaper (wet/dry) through 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200/1500 and 2000+ would get it close, after which stropping with an appropriate compound would take it closer still. Some stropping compounds will finish it better than others; for example, diamond and aluminum oxide compounds work pretty fast, but the Brasso polish likely wouldn't work well on many steels (it's using silica-based abrasives, mainly intended for brass and other softer metals). Diamond compounds would be necessary for a true mirror on high vanadium steels like S30V, S90V/110V, etc. Aluminum oxide compounds work pretty well on most other mainstream cutlery steels from 1095, CV, 420HC, 440A/C, all the way up through steels like VG-10, 154CM and D2.
But the bottom line is, if you don't properly prepare the edge in advance on an appropriate sequence of stone grits, BEFORE stropping, you'll likely not get the finish you're hoping for.
David
