Since I'm very much a noob as well, I wouldn't put much stock in this 'advice', but here goes.
I too got in to this new hobby/obsession because I was interested in honing and sharpening. I've always liked keeping my knives as sharp as I could and that sort of thing interests me. So I've bought 3-4 junk ebay razors to practice before I try to hone my shaving razors. Sure I've probably wasted a bit of cash on bad razors but I put that cost in my entertainment/hobby budget.
The way I look at it it's what I pay for 'lessons'. When I decided to take up motorcycles, I took the rider courses. And god and my wife know I spend enough on accessories for that little hobby! Fly fishing, although I've been doing that my whole life, is the same way. It's just the cost of my hobbies.
So while the smart money stays away from the ebay and don't start off buying hones and all that; I still think it has been worth while to get some of that stuff and start practicing. I have learned several lessons that I would not have wanted to learn using my 'real' razors and have yet to do anything but strop them. Hopefully these lessons will serve me well once I do need to hone the razors I shave with.
It's like any other hobby: don't spend more than you can afford and don't expect to be good at up front. FWIW