After watching Lynn's DVD several times and reading as many articles as I can, the concept of over-honing still confuses me. I understand that an over-honed edge will pass over whiskers without cutting them but I don't really understand what is going on with the blade. Is an overhoned edge the same thing as a wire edge or burr? Does this mean that the edge is too long and brittle or is this something different?

Another thing that confuses me is the fact that Lynn says that he fixes a wire edge (over-honed?) by going back to the 4K side of the Norton. How can doing more honing fix a problem that was caused by too much honing in the first place?

I am thinking that over-honing may have to do with too many passes with a finishing type stone or paste which would cause the edge to become too weak or drawn out to a wire. The course stones like a 4K Norton can cause excessive wear to the metal of the razor but it may not be fine enough to cause the wire edge (it would in fact remove it and start over with the finishing). Is this thinking correct or flawed?

If this thinking is correct then it would seem that when using courser stones it is important not to do too many strokes because it would cause excessive and unnecessary wear on the blade; and when using the finishing stones and pastes it is important not to do too many strokes because it would cause an over-honed and/or wire edge. Is this the concept behind the pyramid method?