A method of making a die body configured to extrude a honeycomb body, the method comprising the step (I) of manufacturing a die body and the step (II) of predetermining an upstream slot width W1 of the die body such that the upstream slot width W1 is optimized while a root of each die pin includes a section modulus within a predetermined section modulus range. The method still further comprises the step (III) of predetermining a slot length L such that a pin stress is within a predetermined pin stress range.