Thanks! It's nice knowing Luc and I aren't just talking to ourselves. Man, that LE has a gloriously long break-in period, doesn't it? Monsavon still isn't lathering in the bowl like it should - like the soap's getting sucked right into the bristles. Everything else is working well with it, though it really isn't as scrubby as I was hoping it would be. The tips are just too soft for it to feel that way; I suppose I'm lucky it's so dense.
Last night I finally finished honing my Genco straight, and it's lovely. Just wished I'd gotten a big 8x3 coticule, instead of 6x2, as it seems like it would help keep contact on the stone better. Well, either that or a Naniwa progression! The edge really does feel smooth, even though the bevel has a real matte finish, like I'd scrubbed it with sand. Workably sharp, but I'd definitely like things to be much sharper. It's probably just honing quality. I've been managing to get a nice BBS (or nearly so), if I do more than 2 passes, and this was no different. After all this time, my touch is only really starting to get lighter. That's what my alum block says, anyway.