Quote Originally Posted by prodigy View Post

The key is learning what scratch patterns your stones make, then you'll know when you've hit their limit. After a bevel set, try 1 lap and inspect, 5, 10, 20.... eventually it will not make any changes, and you'll know you've hit the limit on that stone.
Wouldn't this be for only 1 particular blade, as every blade is different in metal make-up (content of: Fe, C, Mn, etc.)? 20 laps, on a given stone, on a blade with .95% C will react differently than, say, one with .5% C.

I'm not a metallurgist (nor do I play one on TV). I'm just trying to work my way through the thought process.