Sharpening question

So...  I've been sharpening for a while and was wondering about something: do I really have to start with the coarsest stone each time?  I understand that I need to raise a burr and all that, but if I start with, say, a 3000 grit, don't I just raise smaller burrs?

Okay I went to Korin's sharpening class just to ask questions and the knife master had answers for me (yay!).  Basically, you can get away with just using the fine stones for daily maintenance.  But once a week or so you will need to go down to the mediums (which he placed at 800-2000).  That assumes a 60+ HRC knife -- basically Japanese knives.  For home cooks, think of it as hours -- every 6-8 hours of hard use requires a touchup with fine stones (or stropping if that's your finishing technique), and once every 40 hours or so you will need to go to the mediums.  Softer knives maybe two thirds to half that.  Lower is just used for shaping and repairs.

Yeah when I first bought a King 1000 stone a year ago I thought it was the shiznit because I had been using a cheap stone of 250/500 or so for years before that.  Turned out 1000 is not even on the higher end of "medium" stones by Japanese knife standards.  Once I got a couple of Aotos I was really hooked.

King 1000 -- the gateway stone. :D

Yeah...  I've begun to find my King 1000 a little frustrating with the harder knives...  But the Chosera series is sooo expensive.  Does it really work that much better?  I've been thinking about buying a coarser stone like Beston 500 or Bester 700 instead.

Update:  Just ordered the Beston 500 and the Bester 1200, both of which seem to enjoy a good reputation for superior speed for their grit levels.  If they work as well as people say they do, my King stone will become a lapping stone to take out scratches on the stone surface after flattening with the D8XX.