Like I said though Tony's stones are not better than the Norton's at classic shaving, they are different. The 4K side of the Norton is is a fast cutting stone and is used for forming the edge and the 8K side on the Norton is used for polishing the edge. The edge produced from the Norton is "shave ready" and many people are completely happy with this edge. Some people (including myself) like to refine the edge even more and this can be done with 1 micron and .5 micron pastes, or with finishing stones like the Belgian Coticule or Tony's stones. Tony's stones are finishing stones.