I don't want to thread hijack, but I'm in the same situation as rickboone.

I'm a str8 noob and none of the hones I already own would be appropriate for str8s (save for the barber hone passed on down to me from my grandfather). I want to get just basic hones to keep my razors in good condition and to bring factory-new to shave-ready.

I've been following this thread and trying to follow the advice. But there is a lot of information that can be hard to digest. I know it is hard to come up with one 'right' answer to this question, but which of the following combos would be a good, basic, beginner setup:

Norton 4k/8k + C12k
BBW/Coticule (either combo or separate) with or w/o the C12k
Naniwa 5k/8k/12k combo
Sharpton 4k/8k/16k combo

Of course, getting a DMT D8C or Lapping Plate to go with these as well.

I know YMMV, just trying to distill this info into some basic combos and recommendations for newbies.