Okay, so I've got too much free time this summer. And I've been to meetups and worked on the hones of real honemeisters that were just a mess: grit and tape residue all over, and yet they get spectacular edges.

Maybe it's the OCD part of me, but lately here is what I have been doing before putting away the hones at the end of a session; in fact I did it just now:

Norton 1k: Lap a few figure 8's with the DMT8C-pretty standard. Then with a very fine older diamond hone, and maybe even a little with the 4k.
Norton 4k: Ditto the DMT/fine diamond plate, then Norton 1k and finish with a few figure 8's on a PHIG or NAni12k.
Norton 8k: DMT/fine diamond plate (and its' the combo stone so I can't use the 4k side on it!), then the now very smooth Norton 1k, and maybe a few laps with the Nani12 or PHIG
Nani12k: Fine diamond plate, Norton 4/8, and finish lap on the PHIG.

Believe it or not, I didn't sit down and plan this out; my hands just sort of started doing it during cleanup lapping, then noticing the glass-smooth hone surfaces it leaves behind. Honestly, I can't tell that it makes a whit of difference in my edges (though they have been getting much finer due to more razors and more practice).

I know there is a school of thought that says don't do this, as it works against the intended grit of the hone (except in the case of arkies, a rabbit hole I have yet to fall down). But what about the argument that maybe it could leave a finer scratch pattern coming off each grit stone?

I'm just curious if anyone has done a more thorough, scientific study of this. What do the honing gurus think? Thanks for any thoughts. Aaron