So, my friend and I are thinking about going another week and a half and letting it get to the full eight weeks, and then chopping. Our reasoning is this:
This post was done by someone who tested bud harvested after every week of flowering:
http://forum.grasscity.com/harvesting-processing-marijuana/915977-when-harvest-maximize-thc-7.html#post13144054
The plant maxed out in THC and CBD when trichs were still more than half clear. I have been looking at lots of debate on this and have come to the conclusion that while trichs are a good metric of maturity, they are not the only one that should be considered when deciding when to cut. The best plant in that post still had mostly white pistils as well.
I had my friend in to examine the trichs, because I am unfortunately color blind and have trouble telling the difference between colors between green and brown, so finding amber trichs is hard. My friend insists that some pistils here and there are starting to turn, and that there are about 5-10% amber trichs.
I also found after touching a bud that my fingers stuck together so hard that I could hardly pull them apart. The end of the microscope also got coated in strong adhesive oils. In addition, the plant is starting to smell like a mother fucker. When I open the door to my room (not my closet, just the room) it is overpowering.
So I have a majority of cloudy trichs, strong smell, tons of oil, and evidence that many people harvest too late when judging by trichomes alone. I can only conclude that I should let it go to the full eight weeks, just to err on the side of safety and satisfy the "when you think it's done, wait another week" rule, and cut the bitch down. I have been preparing myself to have to wait a long time to reach maturity, but I feel like the signs are piling up and getting impossible to ignore.