First strap I've tried so honestly it took me a while to learn the best way to remove it. I watched a few videos and decided to try the sling in combination with the Work Sharp Precision Sharpener, which is good too. I was initially a bit confused as to why the blades wouldn't "get sharp" with two, I could make them a lot sharper than I did to begin with, but left a lot to be desired. I used the green mixture on the "rough side" of the line and then finished it on the smooth side. For a while, the blade made it just a little bit better than the work itself. Once I started applying a small amount of green to the smooth side and figuring out the angle as best I could, it really started to improve things. I think the two keys to the best result are the angle and then the amount of pressure you use to sling. Most instructions will tell you to apply light pressure, but in my experience applying medium or even slightly more pressure while tightening really makes a difference and with that and the angle I finally got the razor sharp result, after that I was looking for. to the. I have yet to try any oil, it seems like a mess so try to avoid it, but once it gets a little more beneficial I might try it too. I am giving stars for this sling as it appears to be perfectly fine skinned, not sure how much better it can be with just one. Everything seems fine so far, once you master the technique it works like a champ! I think it would be nice just to point out that you don't really need to add a lot of paste. On mine I only applied it to half a page and if you applied too much just scrape it off as you work. BTW, I'm not entirely sure why people say they mount this locally on the board. Do you know that you can already buy them like this if you want? I found it handy to be able to unzip it and use it on a hard surface when done.