Verrrry Interestink! :mace:
UPDATE: took a razor that shaved well off the Norton & used water only for lots of strokes. I just honed until water undercut evenly. Didn't feel any change in feedback. Very thin film of water. Test shaved a small patch (this was without doing my usual prep which involves a shower--I just lathered on my face & went for it) & seemed to be cutting quite well--better than I'd expect the Norton to do under the circumstances. I figured I'd live dangerously & lathered up my whole face. Just WTG w/ some XTG cleanup on my jawline only.
The razor was very smooth--I could actually feel where my beard was softened & where it wasn't (like I say, my shirt-collar-pilling mass of steel wool was not totally softened), but the shave was pretty good. I look forward to a full test shave tomorrow...
Signs look good (and actually the stone now reflects like a mirror @ low angles, but still no good camera). Still curious about a Shoobie-Doobie, though... :D