If I had to start over again? Well, I would sit down with Bart, let him show me how to use a hone, then buy a hone, and that would be that. And I honestly could not care less which one it was, as long as it was vintage. Call me OCD'ed, but honing a vintage razor with a synthetic hone, or one not from the region (ie Belgium, or Germany) feels wrong.

Oh, and yes, one hone. Not two, or fifteen (that was the most I ever owned). One. It is enough, and it should be enough for anyone who does not hone professionally, in which case consistence, speed, and ease of use play a more important role than nostalgia.