Dear Elliot, Your last post is full of holes. First you say, in caps, that the majority of styli are worn on one edge only. Doesn’t that suggest that "the majority" of us have been using either too much or too little AS? So, if the AR-XB tonearm does have some above average friction at the pivot in the horizontal plane (which is quite likely due to its age alone), then that amount of friction is either too much or too little in terms of AS. This puts the user in the same boat with the rest of us, neither better off nor worse off.
You also suggest that there is a "proper" amount of AS. Perhaps there is, but most of us don’t find that magic amount, if the "majority" of styli are assymetrically worn. Further, have you ever seen a graphic representation of the magnitude of the skating force, as the stylus traverses across the surface of an average LP? So, imagine or search for that graph, with magnitude on the Y-axis and distance from the spindle on the X-axis. It describes an inverted parabola, if memory serves. Whereas we artificially apply a skating force that is constant across the surface of the LP; in other words, a straight line on that same graph. A straight line can only intersect a parabola at two points. This means that no matter what we do, the AS can only be "correct" at two instances during the course of playing an average LP, no matter what method one uses to select the amount of AS. And this leaves out the major effect of groove tortuosity on variations in the skating force.
You seem to espouse the method for setting AS that involves playing a groove-less LP and watching what the tonearm does at various AS settings. I realize this is a bone of contention among anal audiophiles, but it is my opinion that, because the skating force arises due to friction of the stylus tip in the groove, note "in the groove", and because groove tortuosity has much to do with the constant variability of the skating force, you’re kidding yourself if you think you can arrive at a "correct" setting for AS using a blank LP. I realize there are some gurus who disagree with me on that subject.
So, in the final analysis, I think relying upon friction at the pivot to supply some AS is not so crazy. Further, I would also posit that much of aberrant stylus wear that is observed apparently by re-tippers is due to our playing too much with azimuth while trying to arrive at equal crosstalk using a Fozgometer or some other similar gadget. I am a big proponent of setting azimuth so the stylus sits squarely in the groove, regardless of electronic measurement. The enemy is us, when it comes to uneven stylus wear.
