By 1/3 of the hone, I'm not sure if you mean the stone is sideways or lengthwise.

This idea of the only place the edge is contacting the stone being a very slim area on the side of the stone is exactly what I was going for. Much easier said than done of course. I forgot to bring my razor to work where my nice cameras are so I'll get photos later this week of the degree of warp.

When you're doing a rolling x-stroke, it would probably never make sense to alternate direction every stroke, correct? Seems like it would be very challenging getting the roll just right if you flip the blade around constantly.