It's possible make a razor shave-ready with just a few slipstones that'll cost you less than $20, but the operative word here is 'possible'. If your time is worth any amount of money you'd probably be better off spending more towards bigger hones with established track record. Most people find out that while not rocket science, it takes quite a bit of practice to be able to perform the task correctly.
But yea, if you know what you're doing you can use any number of subpar tools if that's what you want to do.