Thread: Beginner's Needs

I'm a beginner both with a STR8 and to honing, and from my reading, I believe I could get by with a norton 4/8 and a barber hone. Is this reasonable or can anyone else come up with a more effective but efficient idea?

There are many alternatives as you've no doubt seen in your reading. A norton 4/8 and a barber hone would be fine though IMO.

That is a fine choice and one I would recommend but there's a ton of choices out there depending on these needs:

Are you honing from bevel to finish?
Are you just going to maintain a sharp razor?
Do you want to be able to remove chips on ebay razors and then restore the edge?

These are all things to consider because this will effect the hones you would need to buy.

For many many many years shavers had even less than that and were very satisfied with the results they got.

It's all a matter of how hooked your are with the hobby side and the quest for the ultimate.