Tim. Great pics & interesting approach.

The constant thing that I see in the progression of pics is a gradual improvement of the edge so I'm thinking why stop at 12k ?
At the risk of offending the Escher & C12k fans, there are finer stones that could provide further refinement without needing tape. Of course these stones get exe but just thinking out loud. Maybe you took the experiment beyond 12k but found this level optimal ?