Do you hone with toe-leading x-strokes? If so, how do you incorporate them into your process? Do you alternate heel and toe-leading with a stroke-count? Do you employ them more just after setting the bevel or near the end on a touchup?
I ask because ever since I messed up the bevel on my very first straight a whole year ago, I was advised to alternate 5 heel-leading x-strokes and 5 toe-leading. This makes sense to me when I think about the shuffled scratch-pattern that makes that nice coti edge, but google tells me that not too many folks are doing it. 5 heel-leading and 5 toe leading (with less pressure) worked for me and Ive been doing it ever since, but the other day I was honing up my PRC hydra and decided to just finish with a bunch of standard heel-leading strokes, and it suddenly went from not passing my standard AHT to pinging and popping those hairs right off!
What do you think?
I ask because ever since I messed up the bevel on my very first straight a whole year ago, I was advised to alternate 5 heel-leading x-strokes and 5 toe-leading. This makes sense to me when I think about the shuffled scratch-pattern that makes that nice coti edge, but google tells me that not too many folks are doing it. 5 heel-leading and 5 toe leading (with less pressure) worked for me and Ive been doing it ever since, but the other day I was honing up my PRC hydra and decided to just finish with a bunch of standard heel-leading strokes, and it suddenly went from not passing my standard AHT to pinging and popping those hairs right off!
What do you think?