Yeah, Thanks for the heads up on that 30 power scope. I'm not 100% sure what higher resolution of microscopes means, but I think it has to do with a larger mirror. I mostly use mine at 60, but at 100 there are some clear views of the invisible. a major drawback of the RS MM is the small view so a larger view sounds like a nice feature.

An important question: what does a wire edge look like? I've had a few problems that sound symptomatic of over honed / wire edge but never saw it in the scope.

I would also like to submit the idea that you do not get a better edge dry. Without a little water or lather on the hone you end up going over the swarf deposited on the hone. It almost sounds like you consider its use a mark against your skill.

The more I think about it I've had a similar problem with my mini geewiz. being the nearest mint razor I have, I tended to hone it a little less than it probably needed. However after considerable use on my mini-card cro strop it eventually yielded the best save I ever gave, but soon after disintegrated.

Another thought- are you holding the hone in your hand? I've never found any particular advantage to this. I certainly know how to lock my body into a solid stance, but with the hone on the bench accuracy of stroke is far superior imho. a hand held hone could certainly introduce some inconsistency allowing previous scratches to be left behind.