Good points there.
Clean stones very important and don't change sides or grit until you are rolling a burr.
I stop on 600 grit with two sessions, the second one very light, and then finish with an impregnated leather strop


"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."
Albert Einstein

At Khe Sanh a sign read "For those who fight for it, life has a flavor the protected never knew".