I just bought my first stone (the norton 4/8k), and you really can get shave capable edges off of it in about a solid days practice(its not going to be as good as it could be, but its not going to be a bad experience), followed by some paste its pretty decent, the members here helped me get set up about 2 weeks ago and ive been going strong since! Also ive read alot about the coticules as they can do a little more work than simply polishing/maintaining. Just ordered one (they look nice) might be worth a peek or if an experienced member chimed in.

And on the gold dollars, take it from me i didnt read a lot about them just saw reputable people selling shave ready ones and i figured hey looks like good practice. Its fairly rough i had to break out a dremel for the shoulder, and the spine is all sorts of curvy, so youll need a lower grit stone or some wet sand. those guys put some decent work into them to get them shaving

just .02 from someone who was in your shoes a few weeks ago

-Bowne out