Randy,
I completely agree. Whatever hones you are using, you have to have a method; without one, honing will become an exercise in frustration or worse. Translating what works for a Norton combo in terms of what works for barber hones is extremely difficult, as you are well aware. Not only do they cut more slowly, there are other variables such as the media used (dry, water, lather, oil), pressure applied, grit size, and the composition of the hone.
These days, I find myself prefering to use all my barber hones dry for both restroration and maintanance. When restoring a dull ebay razor, I finish off with a Swaty type hone (e.g. Swaty, Apart, Premier etc.). I only need to continue a pyramid type sequence (as you recommend when using the Norton) to the point where the razor still pulls when shaving. At this point, I use a sequence of 3-4 light laps (dry) on my highly polished Premier, followed by 50 on the strop. If that doesn't do the trick then 3-4 more laps on the Premier (applying slightly more pressure), followed by 50 more on the strop. Usually, by the second or third time I've got the razor ready to shave. For some really intransigent blades, I may have to step back again and do another modified sequence using coarse, medium and fine grit hones.
Thanks for your helpful posts Randy. Keep an eye out for an Achonite combo (sp? mine was so well used when I got it, that the engraved name was half gone on the medium side).
Hal