Thread: First hone- which should I get?

The "what's the best hone" discussion is almost going on continuously for as long as I follow these forums. If you read all posts dealing with this question, you'll come to only one conclusion: everybody likes the hones he uses best.

I am pretty convinced that they all work, although it's common for many newbies to question the quality of the hone, in absence of instant success, just as it's common that a lot of aspiring straight shavers question the sharpness of the razor when they stumble with good technique in the beginning.

My best advice for anyone that wants to buy a first hone, is to know thy self. Do you mind about soaking your hone? Would you mind to lap it frequently? Would you dislike honing with slurry? Would you dislike variability in natural hones? What is your budget? Is a hone just an exchangeable tool for you, or would you also like to cherish it for its beauty and character? Etcetera, etcetera...
Buy something that appeals to you. Stick with your purchase and learn to really use it well, before buying anything else. Once familiar with that first purchase (whether it was a Norton combo, a set of matching Shaptons, 2 DMT's , the Belgian tandem, a couple of Naniwa superstones, or something else), you 'll be happy with your choise, no matter what it was, and you'll be telling newbies in future threads like this one, to buy the same as yours.

Bart.