Last year I was considering popping for the Japanese Synthetic but I asked a very respected Pro Honer if it was worth the money and he guided me toward the Zulu Grey saying that it would give me the best bang for the buck.

I'm Very Pleased with the ZG. The learning curve wasn't any harder than any synthetic that I've used.

While I do use it with Slurry/I use All of my Hones With Slurry. I then go to clear water. But that's just the way I hone.

This is a Very Good Example that shows that 99.99% of Everything about using and maintaining a Straight Razor is 'Personal Preference'