Quote Originally Posted by thp001 View Post
This. ^

Also you can never really get a truly flat stone if the lapping plate you are using is the same size or smaller than the hone you need to flatten, the lapping plate needs to be larger than the hone so all the surface is worked the same amount.

I think lapping your stones every time you need to hone a razor is a waste of stone tbh, especially if you are just touching up an edge on a fine hone and not doing any heavy work.
I do tend to reset the bevels and do the complete progression whenever I need to or just fancy giving my razors some love.
Obviously they don't need all that work but because setting the bevel is the most important part of the honing process. I do it a lot to learn, improve and practice. If I just touched up my blades when they needed it I would be able to keep them good for a long time but I wouldn't be practiced at start to finish.