Jerry-I'm still very much in the experimenting stage myself, but I went to the ZG from a Nani 12, as there were some fellows testing it back in that South African Hones mega-thread who felt that the 8k to ZG jump was just a bridge too far without more extensive work on the ZG. I have had fantastic results by going from the Nani 12, creating my slurry with the 5x1 Escher starting with about 30 light circles on each side, then doing about 5-6 sets of 20 x-strokes starting on moderate thuri slurry, with a spritz of water diluting between sets on the slurry side of TC's 8x3. Rinse and flip, and do about 50-60 light laps on clear water on the polish side. Finish with another 50-60 laps with a drop of dish soap. I finish with my usual OCD stropping progression.
Results have been smooth and keen so far. Of course in order to really get to know the stone, I need to eliminate variables and see how far I can go with just the stone, water and maybe its own slurry. That same thread indicated that ZG slurry generated by a DMT or similar plate is also awesome, as its almost too hard to generate much slurry on the ZG rubbing stone.
Mike-I have done glycerin and water, but it's been awhile. As I have a large bottle of it and a few more razors to hone before going back to work, I will take your suggestion and give it a whirl. As it's water-soluble, I wouldn't have to worry so much about it around my water-stones. I don't even keep WD-40 at my regular honing table cuz I know I'm absent-minded enough to pick it up instead of my water bottle for a spritz on my water stones.:dropjaw: