Before you do any pyramid you need to evaluate the razor. The pyramid could be overkill if you happen to have a nearly shave ready razor. From the posts I've seen here, most guys seem to overkill with the pyramid. For example, to me, the pyramids described about involve too many laps to be used as a general procedure. It's great if you've picked up a fairly dull razor from Ebay and don't know what to do with it. But in my opinion, you're much better off learning how to evaluate a razor first and then adjust the pyramid or work some other way.
For example, if a razor plainly looks dull or the thumb test shows it doesn't grab, I'll do a thumbnail test to determine if the edge is straight and smooth. If not, I go to the 4K and work the edge until passes the thumbnail test. What would I want with a pyramid? the finer grit is just a waste of time. Once the edge passes the thumbnail test, I move off the 4K.
At that point a pyramid could make sense since you're trying to polish the edge, but I don't use it. I'll just work on the 8K until the edge looks smooth and even at 60-100x magnification. I might go back to the 4K for a few if I see some chips. Once the edge looks smooth and even at 100x I'll move on to a finer hone, like a 12K.
From then on I use the thumb test to monitor edge improvement. When improvement stops, I move on to the .5 micron strop and keep stropping until improvement stops. At that point the razor is usually keen, but I could go on to a .25 micron strop. If I'm short on time, I can stop after the 12K stone and I don't give up a lot.