I am glad that everything worked out for you with this one. For what it's worth, I would strongly recommend that you never use the thumbnail test after you get past the 4K level because your thumbnail will actually dull the edge somewhat. When the edge is getting close to shave ready in the 8K level and beyond it is much thinner than a piece of paper so you can imagine how being dragged across something as hard as a thumbnail can be counterproductive to attaining optimal sharpness. As far as the smaller bevel goes, the size is determined by the actual grind of the razor, not your honing or lack of it for the most part (Of course if you wear the razor down this is different. On the other hand, if the heal is not as sharp as the rest of the blade then that is on you and you will have to do more work in this area if you want the razor to be equally sharp from heal to toe (the heal is generally the most difficult because it normally spends the least amount of time on the hone). If your M&W shaves anthing like mine the you definately have a keeper there!