Choosing hones - Why, instead of what
Gents,
I've read a few threads about selecting hones and I have noticed a few trends in the recommendations. Many members have expressed their opinions, but few have explained the reason why they choose a specific hone.
I'm not trying to find out what each member is using, but I would rather try to understand why they chose a specific hone, what the differences are between hones (beyond grit rating), what are the pros and cons, etc...
I have a few specific questions, and although some of them are asking almost the same thing, it illustrates what I am struggling to understand...
1. Most users seem to agree that the Norton 4k/8k combo is the best place to start. Why? How is this different than buying a 4k and a 8k from a different brand?
2. Along the same line, what is the difference between a Norton 8k, Naniwa 8k, Shapton 8k, etc...
3. What is the advantage of a natural stone, and assuming there is one, why doesn't everybody use them?
4. What makes certain stones unsuitable for beginners?
5. Why do some members have such a wide variety of stones? Are some stones better suited for specific razors? How do you choose which ones you'll use for a given razor?
Hopefully someone is brave enough to tackle this thread and educate me...
Thanks in advance!