One of the things Lynn told me in chat one night after my volunteering the info that I had endured some poor quality shaves just to see a bit more of what the edge could manage is quite simple: No need to do that! You should know on the first stroke what is gonna happen.
Sometimes my cheeks might fool me, but not around the lips.
maybe it is not so bad that you really need to stop, and each day you hone a little to see if it is better or not to find the limit.
However, if you start with some tough whiskers and you know it can be better why not add those five on the spot, shave either directly from the hone or with very, very few strap laps for good measure; I'm pretty sure you will eventually hit a sweet spot where it is the same, the same, the same.
By going directly from hone to face you can test only the hone, later you can see what more the strop adds, so if you loose anything at all; you will know it was the strap, not that it needs more honing-which it will but that not why-that it was not first honed enough.