When I touch up an edge I use one rod hand held. I think they are very useful this way.
I've always liked these with M4 but let me show you what I mean.
I sharpened my PM2M4 with my Edge Pro to a "mere" 4,000 Shapton Glass stone made for the Edge Pro. I say mere because I often go to at least 8,000 and up to 15,000 with my hand held Shapton bench stones.
Anyway she was quite adequate after the Edge Pro, pretty polished . . . nice mirror looking bevels if you didn't start looking too close with magnification. The edge was hair whittling.
I used the knife for a week.
then . . .
I butter fingers and dropped the knife. I don't know what all it collided with, bounced off some stuff . . . not too bad . . . came to rest on a plywood floor.
I looked at it when I got home and it had some edge dings and some dullish spots.
I figured I would do what I could to get it touched up to finish out the week and then sharpen it right on the Edge Pro on Sunday.
After getting the slightest, slightest bur using ONLY the Spyderco Ultra Fine Triangle rod and then getting rid of the bur with super light edge leading strokes about half the length of the rod alternating one stroke per side I was able to get rid of all the edge dings.
When I took the edge to my arm hair to see if it would cut anything . . . my highest hope was that it would shave pretty well . . .
. . . as I brought the edge into my arm hair it caught on the hair and topped them off.
I kid you not. Tree topping off a ceramic stone. THAT IS SHARPER than it had been off the Edge Pro.
I don't think I had a false bur edge . . . I mean I debured that off.
HAPPY DOG !
PS: and there were no catches when I sliced the edge on my finger nail draw cutting wise. I mean it was just as smooth and consistent feeling as could be.
Today after using it at work the edge is great (meaning no false edge that rolled or anything; still feels perfect drawn over my nail)