Soooooo......I've had the stones since Sep 07....but as things go, other things took priority...that and I had enough honed straights (courtesy of JoshEarl and HeavyDuty) that I was not in dire need.

Now, some of the straights have started to feel less than wonderful, so I thought I would give it a shot.

After chatting with JoshEarl and reading the honing FAQ, watching Lynn and HeavyDuty's vids, and reading the Coticle chronicle (wheeew!), I started.

I chose 3 razors:

A new, out-of-the-box generic Solingen
My Wapi
My Dovo Burghof (this was the razor I purchased after FuddEx lost the 2 I sent to Lynn for honing)

Stones:
Norton 4K/8K
Belgian Blue (as an aside, this has always sounded like a dog breed to me..."The sure is a pretty Belgian Blue you have." "Yep, he's 3 years old and is a great retriever...he's good at bringing dubbel and ambers, now he is learning to bring Lambics")...sorry, back to the topic.....
Yellow Cotigura Rubbing stone
Belgian Yellow Coticle
Escher

I started with the new razor and a standard pyramid on the Norton:

3/1
3/1
1/3
1/3
1/3
1/5
1/5
1/10

Always kept the stoned wet, enough that I could see a little "wave" of water pushed in the front of the blade edge as I did each lap. I did laps with the blade perpendicular to the stone.

Then, I moved to the Blue with a slurry for 50 laps;

Then, the blue with just water for 30 laps;

Then, the coticle wet for 30 laps;

Then, the coticle dry for 20 laps.

I read the directions on what was left on my Escher's lable and it recommended a lather. I took a small bit a dishsoap and worked it up into a light foam and did another 20 laps.

Between each progression, I visually checked the edge and did the Thumbpad and thumbnail tests. When I finsihed, the edge was mirror shiny. So, next stop, the bathroom ad a test shave.

I finished the blade on leather, 20 strokes on the Russian, 20 on the Latigo, 20 on the horsehide. I lathered (no towel, no super hot water) and proceded with a WTG stroke. I had 2 days' growth.

The blade removed the whiskers and was moderately smooth, but not on par with blades from JoshEarl or HeavyDuty. I rinsed off and returned to the stones.

I did another 30 laps on the blue (w/ water only), then 20 more on the wet coticle, then 20 on the dry coticle, then 20 on the wet (no soap) Escher. I then did 10 laps on 3.0 pasted paddle, 10 on the 1.0, and 5 on the chrome oxide.

Lathered the other side of my face and did another WTG stroke. Much, much better.

I did the same progression on the Wapi and the Dovo, minus the Norton, as they already had an edge. I have yet to shave with them (ran out of face).

My goal is a smoothly shaving blade, versus scary sharp.

For the Honemeisters, where in this progression can I make imporvements/adjustments?

Difficulties

Keeping count of the laps
Keeping the toe of the blade flat on the stone at the end of the lap
Keeping the spine flat on the stone during the lap pulling towards you....if it came up, I started the lap again.

I have a pile of razors to work on (20+), so all tips/tricks are welcome. I know that each person has their own style and methodology.

On a sid enote, I am selling all my spikes, as I have just have not taken a liking to them. So, they are listed in the B/S/T section. I am sticking with the round end, French, Spanish. I also like wedges and I have a frameback I may need to consult with HeavyDuty on honing (one of the 3 I won in the Great Missouri Razor Auction of 2007).

Greg