hey guys, first real post but have been lurking, sorry looking(!) for a while.

currently using shavette but have wanted to get into the real deal ever since my girlfriend's grandpa gave me his old solingen "somefa" (5/8). since then have picked up a joseph rogers straight (ebay item no 290090937037) and a pair of wapienicas to practice honing. SO, not sure if these questions should really go in the honing section... but:

1. what is the arkansas stone used for? bevel-setting, or generating a final polish on an edge? (i.e. what sort of grit level are we talking?)
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currently i have no honing gear, but think i need the following: strop; pasted paddle strop; and a norton 4000/8000 stone. however, my questions are:

2. would it be wiser to invest in the arkansas stone plus hone and strop combo from wojciech (aka "open razor" on ebay)?

3. in what order would i use the hone and the arkansas stone?

4. are there any uk/europe-based honemeisters if i wanted to get one of the antique straights sharpened for comparison?

cheers and just wanted to say this is a great site
Dave