It sounds like there's one heck of a learning curve on a coticule. When I got my Naniwa SS (1,5,8,12ks), the only thing I knew about honing was from watching Lynn and Glen on the videos. I had 2 razors purchased from SRD that I knew to be sharp. I had a W&B and a Robert Williams also. I dulled both the W&B and the Williams (GASP). I went to work on the near wedge W&B, cause I reckoned it would be the toughest to hone. I used Lynn's progression, but Glens 2 handed approach. It took 5 attempts before I had a sharp blade again. I learned that at the 1k level, the bevel is set when the blade feels like the stone is sucking it down, that's the best way I can describe it, the contact between blade and stone feels sticky. After that the rest is easy. I'm not a honing expert by a million miles, but if you are thinking of buying your first stones, I recommend the Naniwas.