Originally Posted by
mainaman
4k with slurry then rinse off and hone with no slurry before you get to the 8k
@ OP
right now I feel you have a bit of a mix of all kinds of factors that play into your honing.
You need to sort things out to get a clear picture of what is going on and how to fix it.
Start with your honing system, for the moment forget the 12k, and as Jimmy suggested focus on your 8k results.
So when you are sure the bevel is set correctly, do your pyramid and test shave. If the results are not there, repeat.
The 4k will not be enough to damage the spine you will have to take some metal but once you set the bevel right you should not be worried anymore. After the bevel is set, provided you do not have to fix chips on the edge, you will only be touching up on your 8k/12k, or pastes so the spine hone wear will be minimal.
How do you check your edge progress after each honing stage?