I have been reading a lot of threads looking for the answer on touching up an edge, to maintain shave ready condition for a very long time with out having to send it out to be honed. I've see a variety of answers including finishing stones like a naniwa 12k, chinese 12k, basal wood strop with pastes or diamond spray, coticules, and barber hones. I've also read that a norton 4/8k stone is good enough to keep a shave ready edge. I don't want to spend too much money on this so i guess that throws out the naniwa 12k stone since its around $100, I've read the basal bench strop wit the paste is a very cheap option, but will it maintain an edge as well as a stone? a barber hone seems like too many things to keep up with and id rather buy something relatively new. Whipped dog has an appealing deal on the chinese 12k although its a quarter stone, and same with a quarter norton honing kit. Whats the best route to maintain a shave ready edge for a long time?

Thank you.