The pryamid was developed primarily for use with the Norton 4K/8K stone stand alone. Nothing is wasted in the methodology as each step down incrementally takes the razor to a different level. As I have stated forever, less strokes are better. When you need a heavy grit and are applying 40-60 strokes, you really are restoring a razor. For the majority of razors not including the illustrious $10 ebay great deal, you really should try to stay starting from 10-15 strokes down in the method finishing with a 1-3 or 1-5 progression. This is on the Norton alone. There are many other ways of honing depending on the shape of the razor and the types of stones or pastes available. With each method, there is room for significant variation depending on the type of razor and it's condition. If you think of all the "methods" as guidelines vs. a sure fire solution that will work on every razor and don't spend a ton of time flattening spines with too much honing on too rough a surface, you will eventually start seeing much improvement on your edges.

Have fun.

Lynn