I wanted to say that but to each his own. I have found that for the Naniwa stones were much easier to use than the Norton. also the Naniwa is a 3/8 and not the a 4/8. I have the Naniwa system the 1-3-5-8-12K. I started out with the 1 for bevel set and then the 3/8 the finisher 12K. The combination of these stones did give a very good edge. And as I stated earlier for me they were very easy to use. I added the 5K later in the chase of the perfect edge. I don't know if I'll ever catch that elusive phenomenon (wish I knew what that word ment) or not the chase alone is worth it.