I've been searching and reading, and have tried to glean as much as possible in the posts. However, there are a few intricacies that I have questions about.

First, I'm new to honing. I've been shaving for over a year with a 5/8 Dovo I got from classic (high carbon with the gold leafing). I've maintained the blade using a paddle strop and diamond pastes. However, it was time to get the Norton waterstone.

Needless to say, I've not had good luck. I'm not yet good at the thumbnail test, so I let the shaving do the talking. I've got 5 days growth right now, to give you an idea of the painful shave I took last week!

The questions:
I've read about the pyramids, so no need to reiterate.

I know the direction and X pattern as well. However, is the X necessary with the wide waterstone? My mate and I have discussed this and it makes sense to use the X. My concern here is that the heel(handle side) of the blade gets less action on the stone. (because the blade hangs over as the X pattern is created.) Has anyone tried a parallel stroke while holding the blade at an angle?? (think of a snowplow) This would allow 100% contact all the time, while keeping an angle in the blade. The only thing to watch out for is the spine roll and set up for the return stroke. Just a thought.

As for holding the blade, I've seen one video where the person uses one hand, much like stropping. I've read about using 2 hands and handling the blade primarily, not the handle. What's recommended for the beginner? What delivers the best results?

Back to the X pattern. It seems to me that I strop in the opposite direction of the "angled teeth" of the blade. In other words, the honing direction should create an angle that moves from blade-heel to spine-tip. However, the stropping action I use, unless I am wrong, follows an angle that moves from spine-heel to blade-tip. These 2 angles on the blade edge are contradictory. Does it matter? (please try to understand this section or ask for clarification; I'm not talking about the motion, but the resulting path of travel)

Conclusion:
Perhaps I just need to keep at it. It would be nice if someone could compile all the various things from other posts into a FAQ for honing. Then send it in to classic to update their page Maybe I've overlooked a section like this here, but I think I've been pretty thorough. If I ever figure it all out, then maybe I'll collate all the info into a section.

Thanks for any help, links, or words of advice.