A Mobius strap is the preferred method - but watch your fingers!
By the way, my amidol working developer sample was DEAD at 48 hours (base + fog only). It was still alive and working at 34 hours.
I took a look at the previously developed film (cross section) in an optical microscope. There appears to be a tanned "skin" at the top surface of the emulsion layer. The stain penetrates all the way to the bottom of the emulsion layer.
Recall that I uniformly exposed these pieces of film to a diffused halogen light source, so I would expect the development and stain to be uniform.
Wow, impressive! Just as an aside here Tom, the Moersch Catechol paper developer in working solution form lasts about 3 weeks or 8 separate printing session - fresh, the image comes out after 30 secs; on the 8th session or nearing 3 week old, it takes about 1 minute. I suspect they mix the stock solution with more than just water.
I can't wait for your tests on paper with MS Amidol liquid kit form.