recently my TI (5/8, sheffield steel) started to pull on my stubble so i decided to hone it. as with the last time i honed it, the blade seemed to be obviously more dull after honing. previously i was able to get it in shape by using red and green pastes on a paddle strop, repeating literally hundreds of times on each side. the pyramid i used was the norton "conservative" pyramid: (1/5,1/5,3/5,5/5,3/5,3/5,1/5,1/5,1/5) on a 4k/8k stone i had lapped fresh to bring a new honing surface to the stone. knowing that TI's are recognized to be "hard", i added some more strokes to the last 8k set, probably about ten in total.

clearly there is something i am doing wrong, but i am following the pyramid and using a light touch when honing.

i think i need some TI-specific advice

i have read in posts here that TI blades are very hard due to the lead they use in their metallurgy. do others find they have to go to a more aggressive pyramid or just more strokes?

i know i can send it to a "honemeister" but i don't want to be defeated by a piece of metal. can anyone offer some specific advice, anecdotes, etc? hearing from other TI users would be best.