Well.... for the sake of continuity, I'll follow up here.

I am still only shaving my cheeks with the straight, following up with a DE and Feather blade to complete the shave.
BUT
I have now reached the stage where the DE won't shave off any more hair from the places where I have used the straight.
So I count that as a resounding success.

Shhh !! Not a nick so far.

Rod