After playing with the new hone and the old ones.

It is a darn fine hone.
In the company of modern 8K hones from Japan it is an
equal among giants.

The number of strokes and the feel might differ but it
is an honest 8k hone and the hand of the person doing
the honing is more variable than the three modern 8k hones
in my kit.

Yes, even the 8K side of my Norton combo.

On the splash and go side of things... I now ignore
the soak and use running water.

I have been playing with honing under running water
and never let the hone develop a slurry. With all
my 8k and 12k hones a light hand and running water
the edge and polish is much improved.

Slurry and residue from a nagura can be less than valuable IMO
in the context of a smooth finish.

If you have a decent 8k you should be able to get a great 8k edge
from it by going back to basics.

If you do not have an 8k hone put this one on the list.