Originally Posted by
markc1975
The 3K & 8K is a combo stone from Sharp Pebble, and are not very wide, so you have to use X-strokes on them.
The 5K & 12K are Naniwa Speciality Stones, and are wide enough for the full blade.
So after the 8K, I realised I'd missed the 5K out, and figured I'd try dropping back before finishing. I'm not sure if there's a bit of luck involved though, so I'll try the same again on a different blade.
I watched a video on a technique that dropped back and forth between grits, but couldn't remember the exact pattern!
Mark