Quote Originally Posted by Vasilis View Post
You don't have to buy a diamond plate from the start. Use sandpaper, get a few pieces of 200 grit, 600 grit, 1000 grit, start from the coarser and proceed to the finer, until your stone is smooth. And don't forget to use a completely flat surface to place them on it. Clean the stones thoroughly, and they are set to go.
Yes, the 1k and 6k stones are "coarser", and you follow a progression, from the coarser to the finest, although you can skip a few steps, depending on the condition of your edge.
Stropping paste is not necessary at all if you find a good Chinese finishing stone, but stropping on plain, clean leather is necessary.

If you find out that you enjoy honing, and you start to see results, or have more than 10 razors, a diamond plate or two would be useful in the future, but for now, sandpaper is enough. And, if you can buy a small slurry stone with the Chinese natural finishing hone, it would be helpful.
Ok, thanks for the clear info. Slurry stones are available here, will probably have some questions about those a little down the road...
This may be a silly question but... what do you use for your completely flat surface? (and do you use water/running water; and how do you fix the sandpaper to the surface?)