diff --git a/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/edge_cap_sweep.rs b/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/edge_cap_sweep.rs
index d874a5e..c948ba2 100644
--- a/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/edge_cap_sweep.rs
+++ b/crates/sylpheed-formats/examples/edge_cap_sweep.rs
@@ -75,6 +75,6 @@ fn main() {
     }
     println!(
         "cap={}  models={models}  verts={verts}  shared={shared}  inconsistent={inconsistent}",
-        std::env::var("XBG7_EDGE_CAP").unwrap_or_else(|_| "0.42 (default)".into())
+        std::env::var("XBG7_EDGE_CAP").unwrap_or_else(|_| "library default".into())
     );
 }
diff --git a/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs b/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs
index 3e9bb04..a0c659c 100644
--- a/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs
+++ b/crates/sylpheed-formats/src/mesh.rs
@@ -831,7 +831,10 @@ pub fn debug_best_rejection(bytes: &[u8], name: &str) -> Option<(usize, String)>
             if vb < idx_bytes + pad {
                 continue;
             }
-            let mc = if pad == 0 { 0.0 } else { 0.85 };
+            // Mirror production exactly: the pad-0 path now carries the winding
+            // floor too. Reporting at 0.0 would accept blocks the decoder
+            // rejects and point at the wrong gate.
+            let mc = if pad == 0 { pad0_consistency() } else { 0.85 };
             if let Err(why) = validate_block_report(
                 bytes,
                 vb - idx_bytes - pad,
@@ -966,6 +969,22 @@ fn edge_cap() -> f32 {
     std::env::var("XBG7_EDGE_CAP").ok().and_then(|v| v.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(1.0)
 }
 
+/// Smallest bounding-box extent a block may have (default `0.5`). An absolute
+/// floor on a format with no unit convention is a scale assumption, so it is a
+/// knob: `XBG7_MIN_EXTENT`.
+fn min_extent() -> f32 {
+    std::env::var("XBG7_MIN_EXTENT").ok().and_then(|v| v.parse().ok()).unwrap_or(0.5)
+}
+
+/// Use a scale-free collinearity test for degeneracy instead of the absolute
+/// triangle-area one (`XBG7_REL_DEGEN=1`). More principled in the abstract — an
+/// absolute area threshold calls a small object's every triangle degenerate —
+/// but measured on this disc it decodes **no more** resources and raises
+/// cross-container inconsistency 39 → 44, so it is **not** the default.
+fn rel_degen() -> bool {
+    std::env::var("XBG7_REL_DEGEN").is_ok()
+}
+
 /// Winding-consistency floor for the pad-0 single-block anchor.
 ///
 /// **0.70 since 2026-08-12.** A triangle's face normal should agree with its
@@ -1278,7 +1297,21 @@ fn validate_block_report(
             u[2] * w[0] - u[0] * w[2],
             u[0] * w[1] - u[1] * w[0],
         ];
-        if 0.5 * (cx[0] * cx[0] + cx[1] * cx[1] + cx[2] * cx[2]).sqrt() < 1.0e-9 {
+        // Degeneracy = collinear vertices, which is a SCALE-FREE property:
+        // compare the cross-product magnitude to the two edge lengths that
+        // produced it (i.e. sin of the angle between them). The old absolute
+        // `area < 1e-9` test called a small object's every triangle degenerate —
+        // `g005` spans 0.346 units and scored 7 of 8 — so it rejected tiny props
+        // for being tiny. `XBG7_ABS_DEGEN=1` restores the absolute test.
+        let cross = (cx[0] * cx[0] + cx[1] * cx[1] + cx[2] * cx[2]).sqrt();
+        let un = (u[0] * u[0] + u[1] * u[1] + u[2] * u[2]).sqrt();
+        let wn = (w[0] * w[0] + w[1] * w[1] + w[2] * w[2]).sqrt();
+        let is_degenerate = if rel_degen() {
+            cross < 1.0e-6 * un * wn || un == 0.0 || wn == 0.0
+        } else {
+            0.5 * cross < 1.0e-9
+        };
+        if is_degenerate {
             degenerate += 1;
         } else if let Some(no) = decl.normal_offset {
             // Stored-normal agreement: the face normal should point the way
@@ -1305,7 +1338,7 @@ fn validate_block_report(
         t += tstep;
     }
     let extent = (hi[0] - lo[0]).max(hi[1] - lo[1]).max(hi[2] - lo[2]);
-    if extent < 0.5 || sampled == 0 || degenerate * 10 > sampled * 3 {
+    if extent < min_extent() || sampled == 0 || degenerate * 10 > sampled * 3 {
         return Err(format!(
             "extent {extent:.3} (min 0.5), {degenerate}/{sampled} degenerate (max 30%)"
         ));
diff --git a/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md b/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md
index 8742876..e932511 100644
--- a/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md
+++ b/docs/re/structures/xbg7-mesh.md
@@ -1042,6 +1042,34 @@ not obviously right, and both points are one env var apart
 (`XBG7_PAD0_CONSISTENCY`, `XBG7_EDGE_CAP`) for anyone who wants the conservative
 end.
 
+### Where the remaining 82 misses stand — and a refuted fix
+
+With the winding gate shipped, coverage is **6 212 / 6 294 = 98.7 %** and only
+**82** resources never decode (was 225). Re-attributed:
+
+| furthest gate reached | count |
+|---|---|
+| degenerate / implausible positions (`extent < 0.5`, >30 % degenerate) | 42 |
+| winding consistency | 31 |
+| buffer not covered by indices | 9 |
+| connectivity | 0 (inert) |
+
+**The biggest bucket is not the blocker** — which is exactly the caveat this
+attribution carries. Both of its thresholds are *absolute*, which on a format
+with no unit convention is a scale assumption: an area test of `< 1e-9` calls
+every triangle of a small object degenerate (`g005` spans 0.346 units and scored
+7 of 8), and `extent < 0.5` rejects it outright. Replacing the area test with a
+**scale-free collinearity** test (`|u × w| < 1e-6·|u|·|w|`, i.e. sin of the angle
+between the edges) is the principled version — and measured on this disc it
+decodes **no more resources at all**, while raising cross-container inconsistency
+39 → 44. Lowering the extent floor to 0.05 adds **two**.
+
+So the fix that the histogram appeared to point at is refuted: those 42 are
+resources where some *wrong* candidate reached that gate, not where the true
+block was rejected. Both are kept as knobs (`XBG7_REL_DEGEN`, `XBG7_MIN_EXTENT`),
+neither is the default, and the measurement is recorded so the next reader does
+not re-derive it.
+
 ### Coverage has a denominator now, and the misses have a cause breakdown
 
 Coverage has been quoted as "resources decoded" with no total. `examples/undecoded.rs`