Been about a year since I've shaved with my straights... at some point the chromium oxide pasted strop just wasn't cutting it any more. I've put off getting a hone long enough, I think.

I was originally going to go with the norton 4000/8000 combo stone. Probably the most highly suggested stone for beginners, and it seems versatile enough for my needs. Straight Razor Designs also carries a naniwa 3000/8000 combo. Any input on that stone? My guess is that, if anything, they're about the same, or close enough, that the naniwa isn't worth the extra bump in price.

I was also considering the Naniwa value pack (5000/8000/12000), but they seem to be out of stock, and haven't seen a similar deal elsewhere... So, the Norton for now should be goood, and I'll pick up something like one of those shapton 12k numbers later.

I don't believe I'll need anything lower than 4k-5k... these razors were bought shave ready, and worked for a while just with the chrome oxide. My understanding is that anything lower for bevel setting is really for restoring old and neglected razors.

For lapping... is there really any reason to consider anything else besides the DMT 8? From what I can gather: it doesn't need to be lapped (please correct if this isn't right) and would work on all the stones I'm considering.

Damn... after writing all this, I'm about as excited as when I first got my straights. Can't wait.