majurey,

Put me in the "honemeister in waiting" category--I still have a few thousand razors to go before I'm at that point.

You make some good points. First let me jump in and say that a lot of the "accepted wisdom" you're describing is advice aimed at newbies who are just learning to hone and who are starting with a razor that's pretty close to being shave-ready.

The one-hand, no-pressure guideline works best when you're honing a razor that already has a good bevel. This keeps you from dulling the edge with a heavy-handed stroke. If the edge is really dull, though, you're going to be honing for a long, long, long time. In this situation, some pressure is needed to reestablish the bevel. Two hands on the razor is sometimes the easiest way to accomplish this.

Once you have the two sides of the bevel meeting to form a nice, fresh edge, then you ease back on the pressure during the pyramid, until the last strokes are just light enough to keep the blade flat on the hone.

As for the X-pattern, it's not always necessary if you have a 3" wide hone and a razor with a very straight edge. You can go straight across the hone with the heel leading and get good results. However, if there's any curve to the blade at all, you won't be able to get it uniformly sharp all along it's length without doing some kind of X or rolling hone type stroke. (Many razors have toes and heels that curve slightly back before the edge ends; you won't be able to get these toes or heels sharp by going straight across the hone.) Also, if there's a slight warp to the blade, going straight across will leave you pretty frustrated.

It's good to see you thinking analytically about your honing--that's the best way to improve. Once you know the reasons for the "rules," you'll know how and when they can be effectively broken.

Keep at it,
Josh