1. Use as many fingers and hands as you need to safely control the blade on the stone. I see lots of guys use three fingers across the blade to hold it down evenly on the stone.

2. The x pattern is one way to sharpen your razor. Going straight down the length of the stone is another way to hone. The idea is to hone the entire edge of the blade and that means wearing micro-grooves in the edge. Angled grooves are really important when you're honing a scythe blade as they help to catch the blades of grass. The action of a straight razor is different and I don't think the angled grooves are as important. The test is in the shave!

3. Backhoning is one solution to try when you're having a problem. I've worked with guys over the phone honing certain razors that they just couldn't get to a razor edge. First they tried the norton 4k8k, then they tried a coticule (and strop), and still felt they could get a better edge. I then suggested doing some backhone strokes on the coticule and voila! that solved the problem. Some steel and some heat treatments just seem to respond well with a few backhone strokes.

4. I agree with Lynn that new whetters probably do better with an X stroke until they get the feel of what they're doing combined with good shaves. My suggestion is to branch out and sharpen other things as well. The skills are transferrable and you'll have more knowledge "in your hands". Everybody has kitchen knives and they're a good place to start.