Those directions aren't the best. You shouldn't use any pressure just let the weight of the knife do that. Also 20 degrees is dependent on grinds, you lift until you hear the noise change and drag that angle. And a mousepad isn't needed, I just lay my sandpaper on the table, start with 600 grit for a real dull knife and work up to 2000 grit. I thin strop on leather although you could use stripping grit if you wanted. Good videos on youtube look for "convex sharpening".
