I have been using the Naniwa 1K, 3K, 5K, 8K & 12K followed by stropping. (Leaving out details of stropping, as it does not apply to question.) Typically, my progression goes thru the hones in order.

Last night, I honed a Spike that mystified me. I set the bevel on the 1K, and used the 3K. All is well, and the razor is sharp. But, by the 12K the razor was noticeably duller. Unacceptably dull.

I repeated every different approach to hone progression. More pressure, light pressure, less or more passes, pyramids, some passes with spine leading (heard helps if overhoned... ?).

After a long time I gave up and stopped after the 3K, stropped and shaved. The blade was sharp at 3K, and sharp after stropping. But, without doubt, still not up to my sharpness standards.

Even more mystifying to me is that the razor shaved well. Can someone explain?

Asking the same question a little more explicitly, does anyone using a similar hone setup ever skip hones? Do you ever skip the top end of hones like I did? Do you ever use the top hone(s), but skip hones in the middle?