Thread: What hone should I buy??

There are as many opinions as there are hones. My go to hone kit, a 320 diamond plate for re cutting bevels or honing out chips, a 600 and 1200 diamond plate to set the bevel and clean up old hone ware then a 4000/6000 Norton combo stone. Finishing stones can vary but I usually go with a 12000 or higher stone then some 0.5 micron chrome oxide on leather or felt then a good leather strop will get you a hair popping edge

I own the complete set of Norton stones, a diamond set and the very special super 12000k. Unless you are going to sharpen axes, knives and straight razors then you DO NOT need a full set of stones. I recommend that you have them professionally honed first. Learn to shave using a strop for awhile. The Naniwa 12k superstone is all I need to touch up the bevel followed by newspaper stropping on the the stone then leather stropping. It is shave ready every time after this. Unless you are carving vegetables in between shaves I don't think you will ever need more than this to maintain a well sharpened straight.