Frustrating, isn't it? I know the other members are trying to help but I'll take you at your word on the state of your razor and its edge and we'll bypass the idea of honing. If there is discomfort, you're may be applying more pressure than you think OR maybe you're not stretching the skin enough. Another issue may be your soap/lather. Assuming a good edge, it sounds like the razor is catching the skin and scraping. This can be managed by stretching it tight so the razor glides over it, rather than bunching up in front of it and digging in. Also, a slick soap/cream will assist in keeping the razor gliding well. It sounds like that is where you need to look for an answer since the discomfort you are describing is not pulling of the hair but scraping of the skin. Your angle would normally be a question mark as well but you state that you are one spine width from your face. So we can eliminate that as well. One last thing, if this fails to address the discomfort, you might check again on the edge. Look for any small chips in the bevel with a hand held microscope. Chips will cause the edge to cut hair but also irritate the hell out of your skin. Look for any irregularities such as that. But start with addressing the stretching and lather first. The frustrating part is that you are now shaving with a completely custom set up. Its more variable than a manual transmission. EVERYTHING is suspect. You'll have to examine everything and eliminate the suspects one at a time. Let us know if any of this helped or if you're still having trouble.