Well, I figured out that I ruined the edge with the newspaper by not stretching it tight over a flat surface like the other poster recommended. I'm guessing the newspaper curled up enough as I was stropping to eat the edge.

As for the linen...geez, I have no idea. Before I cleaned it I had tried it once, and while the jeweler's rouge was more aggressive than I liked, it didn't eat the razor like it did this time. It's possible that the linen needs a lot of wax or soap or whatever to fill the voids between the cobblestones so the texture is not too rough. Maybe by cleaning it I removed enough wax to make the surface really brutal. I'll try re-waxing it & see if that helps.