Quote Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT
When I was learning on 2" hones, I made a special effort to make sure that every part of the blade travels the same distance under the same pressure on the hone. Now it comes naturally to me. Since I have both options, here's what I do with a relatively dull blade:

1) 40 straight down passes with the heel leading on the N4k 3"
2) 30 straight down passes on the N8k
2.5) Now depending on where I am with the blade, I may do a few more passes on each, until I see that I am finally getting somerhere.
3) Then I take it to the Japanese 4k/8k slip-stones and do a variation of an x-pattern pyramid a couple of times. I do these until the razor is shave ready, usually 2-3.
4) I take them back to the 8k norton and do a few passes but this time at x-pattern, just to give the edge a final polish, as I found N8k to be a bit finer than the Japanese 8k. I do this with a VERY light pressure, so I remove almost no metal.
5) Finally I MAY give it a few final passes on the Coticule, but I haven't noticed a marked improvement over the N8k, so I am a bit disinclined to go trough this step these days.

When I am refreshing a blade, I just do a couple of x-passes on the N8k. However every 3rd refreshment, I do a an actual pyramid on the Japanese stones just to keep the edge from developing a frown. They are slow cutters, so they don't remove much metal but they remove enough to keep the edge straight.
I refresh an edge frequently (whenever stropping doesn't restore its keenness) with a very fine hone (10-12K), like a Swaty. It's only 3-5 swipes. This keeps the razor going for a long time without honing. I have some that have gone over a year. But I do have a rather large rotation.