Over the last 15 0r so years that I have maintained straights I have used eschers, king stones, coticules, barber hones etc, etc, etc. I have only in the last 2 months started using a Norton 4/8k and I wish I had found that stone first. Although the other stones are great and do the job the Norton 4/8K is one of the easiest and most consistent hones I have ever used and perfect for a newbie to learn on