The highest grit I've done is a 16k Naniwa. So far, happy. But if I wanted something a little smoother....

What's the difference between a strop with paste and a high grit stone or glass, such as Shapton 30k? From what I can tell, the pastes get to about 30k, perhaps higher.

Has anyone compared the strop and paste to a Shapton? What's the difference? If there is a thread already, appreciate a link.

Just curious.

Similarly...at what point do you get to the law of diminishing returns?
4k to 8k is a huge difference. 8k to 12k is also big. From 12k to 16k is less of a jump, although it's still 4k finer. 20k would be another 4k higher, and 30k even higher. Do you notice the difference with a shave?