So I think I've made some very good progress. I got a diamond hone from Harbor Freight. Used the 300 grit diamond hone to create a slurry and level my Norton 4/8 and King 1K. The slurry seems to make a huge difference. Bevel setting time is significantly reduced. Scratch marks don't seem to be as prevalent. Overall process is much quicker with a slurry. This was especially noticeable on the 4K and 8K.

On the 4K with slurry, the scratch pattern became much more dull, with even scratches across the bevel. On the 8K with slurry, the bevel is now mirror-like, with fewer noticeable or prevalent scratches from he 4K. I finished on the 8K with no slurry, light strokes. Stropped on leather only. HHT and the hairs are simply falling away with little to no coaxing. A big improvement I think. Of course, the shave will ultimately tell, but I see this as improvement. Perhaps next I'll try and land a Nagura stone for even better results...?

I've now re-honed 4 of my razors using slurry. A Packwood hollow grind, a W&B smiling wedge, a Greaves hollow grind, and a Bengal. Going to shave today and see if the difference is noticeable.