X-Pattern??

I have read on this forum which posted a barber's Manual. showing using a x-pattern honing. But, I seen honing instructions here on just using a straight forward pattern.
Can someone shed some light on this?

You may use a straight stroke if you have a large stone (3 inches wide) which is perfectly flat, and a razor that has a perfectly straight blade, that lays perfectly flat on the stone. For the most part, not all these conditions are met, in which case, the X pattern compensates.

Purely from a results standpoint, I have always found that the X pattern provides a more uniform cut and a better end result.

Lynn

I can't help but think that when you use an X pattern on say a ~2" stone, the the middle of the blade gets more attention than does the heel and tip. Is this correct, or is my technique off?

Yes that's true the middle does get more attention but hopefully your doing the minimum amount of honing using just the weight of the razor so it shouldn't cause problems. However if your one of those guys who likes to just keep honing and honing and uses pressure on the razor you can wind up with a frown in the blade eventually.

Does anybody think that the x pattern allows for a more consistent stroke?
I was honing and realised that when I honed straight on the norton the tendency was for the blade to try and drag itself from perpendicular to heel leading. This meant I compensated by holding it tighter, thus ending up with unusual pressure on the hone.
With the X pattern I find it much easier to keep the blade under control, and therefore can make a much lighter stroke.

I posted this thread because here on this site there is a great scan of a old barber's manual. It demostrates using a x-pattern on the strokes.
The only thing is that I rotate the norton because of the wear from the pattern.
I am slowly getting there as I see the results of the razor getting sharper.
I didnt realize its a very slow process. I usually see some of these video's and boom! There is a super fine edge that cuts atoms! But, I think for a newbie it takes time! The problem I had with the pryamid was that my norton was in the blue tray it comes with. SO, i came up with a clamp over a water tray so I can spin the norton from the 4k side to the 8k side.
Another point! It is very easy to get caught up in a expensive investment in stones and pastes! I am just working with the 4k/8k and pasted strops!