Also, you don't speak about test at all (if I read correctly).

Have you tried the Thumb Nail Test (TNT), the Thumb Pad Test (TPT), the Magic Marker Test (MMT), to look with a loupe..... (see the wiki)?

A beginner at honing once said on this forum that his biggest lesson when he had a private lesson with a honemeister was to constantly test to see where he was at and if he was actually doing what he wanted.


good luck