I have used a naked pf for about a year now. It took a solid month of experiments to get the right look that I see on youtube.
.16g of coffee well stirred and lightly tamped
.10 sec preinfusion
.release until lever goes right to the top
.one more full pull
.to echo someone else, gentle starts and stops

I find the results from the first pull to be very repeatable. The second pull has the most chance of variability but became much more consistent once I went up to 16g of coffee - I like to see a good shower screen imprint on the spent puck.

Yes, but what if I'm getting a good naked extraction with stale Italian coffee blends (northern/southern style?) and I'm preferring fresh roast single origen coffee

If you try a few good naked stale extractions you may never go back to SOs. They're not actually that stale, as long as the package is sealed when I buy them, and I freeze them promptly, they stay surprisingly fresh.

I suppose I do have somewhat boring taste buds, but I do actually prefer old-world blends over third-wave blends and SO's. The good side is that it saves me money! But perhaps I've developed this preference partly in repsonse to the machines I use, which are all old home lever machines.

PC