Short version: I think I should be satisfied with the current state of my edge and work on my shaving technique for a while. What do you think? Here's the longer version of my progess so far:

1. I started straight-razor shaving last month with a new $55 DOVO "Best Quality" 5/8. My shaving technique was so poor (90-degree blade angles and not enough prep) that the cutting edge didn't much matter at first anyway: an uncomfortable mess.

2. Once my technique began to improve, I found time to notice that the blade failed both the "hanging hair test" and the "thumb test" (didn't "grab" at all when passing the wet thumb across the edge). Maybe it had not come "shave ready"; maybe I messed it up with too-forceful stropping. Anyway, it seemed time to hone.

3. As I honed cautiously with the Norton 4k/8k, doing about a 1/3 or 1/5 each evening, things improved for a couple of days and then went wrong, wrong: I found I had been losing contact with spine, edge, heel and/or point, and most of the edge was pretty dull, more so near the heel than the point. I could actually get a decent shave with three passes, but it pulled badly and irritated.

4. After watching Brian Donofrio's video, I tried honing with my finger on the blade to keep better contact. I now have an edge that "grabs" my thumb very well along the whole length, from each "face" of the blade. When un-stropped, it doesn't quite pass the HHT, but grabs at the hair and "sings" a bit; stropped for 10 laps, it passes the HHT pretty well.

What do you think of this for a plan: to be satisfied with the blade the way it is, and just SHAVE with the thing for a month or two, getting my shaving technique "all the way there." I think that, until I feel really confident in my prep and my shaving, I'm always going to be uncertain about whether the problem lies in the edge or just in my shaving. Thoughts?