A new observaton as I evolve:

I have found a very nice routine for bringing decent to good blades to very good shaving condition. It's quite different from bringing fair to poor blades up to snuff. The pressure I use while holding the razor at the shank is very light to non existant. I am finding that the heel of the blade will pop hanging hairs with ease, while the mid section and point section are late to the party. Is this a normal occurance? Should I repeat sequence? It kind of makes sense to me that this would happen since the tip section is so far from the hand which has to put SOME pressure on the stone. Are there any tricks to compensate for
this?

As I am writing this, I just thought about the x pattern and how this might be why it's so good for honing. I don't use it every time, but I did with a blade the other night and it tested all along the blade with no issues. While the heel comes off the stone the muscles in the hand must compensate and put a little extra pressure on the tip portion in order to keep it on the stone.

I know, I know; get a life.

Thanks