Christmas Ideas

[Since I cannot afford to buy stones right now I figured with Christmas coming up why not!]

First, I'll start by saying I have no experience when it comes to honing with stones but I feel this is something I would enjoy getting into. Second, after doing some research I have seen a lot of people cut their teeth (no pun intended :hmmm:) on the standard nortion 4000/8000.

SO I did more interweb searching and found this on amazon:Amazon.com: Norton Waterstone Starter Kit: 220/1000 grit stone, 4000/8000 grit stone, SiC flattening stone: Home Improvement
(best price I've found so far +free shipping)
with this set I would also get a prep stone from theperfectedge

My next question is what should I use for finishing?
From my understanding the 4000/8000 can be used to put a good edge on an "almost" shave ready razor and I would need something to take it that extra step.
(I have a balsa paddle with crox and 1.0 diamond)

I know a lot of this is opinion based but thats what I'm looking for :D

You can use you balsa paddle strop to finish your edge if you want. I seem to remember reading in the grit comparison sheet that 0.5mic is around a 30k grit level so a 1mic would, I assume, be around 15k level, though YMMV. I've not tried coming off an 8k direct onto a pasted strop and it seems like a lot of people on this forum have some sort of finisher. Any more experienced honesters care to cast some more light on this? Would this be Ok?

I will add here that a Norton 4/8 is actually a sharpening/polishing stone and you can actually do a lot of work to an edge with just those two grits. As long as you have a bevel set (which would typically be done with something like a 1k) the 4/8 will do the rest. I have read posts from more experienced members that have said they can shave off the 8k side of the Norton, though I've not tried it myself.

Or you can ask someone else for a finishing stone..! A coticule could be used, or a 12k Naniwa or 16k Shapton glass. Basically anything 10k+..! Then move on to 0.5 CrOx after that.

Let us know what you get and how you get on! Good luck!

The starter set is good, but if I were you, I'd pick up the DMT D8C for lapping. That Norton lapping stone leaves a lot to be desired.

Second, as far as a finisher, I haven't yet tried to go straight from the Norton 8k to my CrOx Balsa strop, so I can't give my opinion on that, but I do have one of the C12k's from Woodcraft.com.

It's an excellent stone, and I use that (~100 passes) before I hit the balsa strop. It polishes that edge up VERY nicely (I check with my 100x scope.)

I'll try skipping the C12k on my next razor, and post my results.