In reply to Offwidth:
> I guess to clarify things a little I've always felt that the climber that can onsight almost any HVS thrown at them will cope onsight on around half of E1's, quite a few E2's and the odd E3 that suits them (if only they trust their own ability!) and possibly even some soft touch E4s.
I agree with that. However, I'm not sure you'll find that many solid HVS leaders who would be happy to try and onsight an E3, even if it is their style.
To answer your question with regards to how confident I am now on E2/3, well I guess the best way of putting it that I'm pretty miffed if I fall off an E2 now (any E2), although I must admit I haven't done much multipitching at this level (I think my only multipitch E2 is Vector at Tremadog). As for E3, well I have onsighted quite a few now (only single pitch though) in several different styles, from long steep limestone walls to delicate gritstone slabs, and as result when I turn up at a new crag, it's the E3s that I'm looking for first. Let's put it this way - I don't expect to fall off an E3, but I'm not surprised if I do! I'd really like to get on some multipitch E3s now though, I have a few on my ticklist for the next few months.
Another thing that I have noticed is that, once you have tried, succeeded (and sometimes even failed) at one grade, you get a lot more confident at the grade below it. Before Tea for Two I had climbed Bitterfingers (E4 6a) at Stoney with a fall/rest (after the crux, bollox!) and failed miserably on Calvary (E4 6a) at Stanage (I know I can't do rockovers - so why did I try?!); but all this has given me a (very small) taste of what E4 climbing is, and so now every time I try an E3 I get the increased confidence from thinking "well, I know I have climbed harder than this, so I should be able to do it without falling". I think that it's this increased confidence, and the extra trust that you then place in your climbing, which the most important point - especially with regards to trad climbing.