Quote Originally Posted by RezDog View Post
The biggest tip I have is the tool that took my honing to the next level and gave it some serious predictability was the loupe and learning to interpret what I was seeing. There have been a couple of threads produced by guys with better photographic gear than I have. Basically in order for the finish to be all that it has to start very early on with the bevel set. Watching with the loupe and ensuring you have no flat spots on the edge, which show as sparkles or lines when looking almost straight down on the point of the apex. When you go to the next step you will begin to watch the side of the bevel and see the scratch patterns change and become finer. As you move along and you have very fine even scratch patterns you will look to the edge of the bevel and see it come straight and the bevel will depending on the finisher become a very nice matte finish or very shiny. That is where you want to stop. If you keep going the edge starts to show a shadow line very close to the edge of the bevel. At this pout your bevel is very fragile and not likely to last for very many shaves.
That is how it appears to me. I hope what I see is well described and you get it.
Very good tips aswell.

My tip for mid range is practice with something long enough to understand it. I kept jumping around when I got frustrated and got no where. A lot of time wasted that could have been put into learning one stone... I hope other don't do this until after mastering one stone for the mid range.