Quote Originally Posted by Bram View Post
it seems like you are doing a lot of double work while honing, I usually go from 3K directly to a thick coticule slurry and dilute till clear water, after this I strop and shave, if I had a nice esher or black arkensas I would use that afterwards but then only on water or oil...
A couple of people have told me of a different variation--they go directly from the 1K to the Dragon's tongue, using a thick slurry and diluting to water, and then to a finishing stone.

I suspect that if one uses fewer stones, just three, one spends more time on the last two stones. But I'll have to try the direct from 4K to coti and see how that works. I have done the progression from 1K to 8K to finishing stone, and that will get me there. At present, I'm preferring a little more gradation in between stones, but as I said I'm not convinced this is necessary or efficient. I'll just have to continue experimenting and getting a better feel for it.