Honing Advice Needed

[Man]

Hello, my friends.

I've been doing a lot of reading online, but can't seem to find the answers to these questions. I apologize for the noob questions and also if this info has been covered in previous discussions. If you know of threads containing this info, please feel free to simply share them here. I have Naniwa 1k, 5k, 8k, and 12k Super Stones, as well as .5 Chromium Oxide paste on one side of my fabric strop. I'm looking to learn how to restore razors as well as maintain the edges on the shavers in my rotation.

1) If I never damage my blade, can I maintain my edge and bevel with the 12k and .5 Chromium Oxide paste indefinitely, or will there come a time that I will need to reset the bevel and hone it from the ground up?

2) If I use a 12k to maintain my edge, when will I ever need to go to a lower grit? How will I know? Is it just when I can’t get a good shave off of the 12k? If so, how much should I hone on a stone before deciding that a lower grit is needed?

3) I've read that you should be able to pass the shave test off of a stone before moving on to a higher grit for polishing. Do you shave test after every stone and then proceed to polish with higher grits if it passes?

4) Since I own hones, is there any point in trying to maintain an edge with the paste, or will I just be using that to polish?

Thanks in advance to any who can assist me here!