One more stone

After finishing on a norton 8k if you could have just one more stone for the finishing touch what would it be, such as a naniwa 10k or 12k?

I use a C12k after my norton 8k, but I've been looking at getting a Naniwa and see how those edges turn out. It comes down on what stone feels good to you to use, but as I found out you always seem to want to buy a different stone or other gear.

If I must choose, I'd choose a thuringian stone.

A C12k, a coticule, a WOA, a Charnley, an escher, few good nakayama and the list goes on... For me, my (recently acquired for less than 40 euros) oiled Charnley forest is the one I prefer.

It would be Escher for sure. I've always got great edges off mine, each and every time. It hasn't let me down. Pretty much all I use these days as a final finisher, but each you mentioned are fine too, Nani 12k, Nani 10k, Even the old C12k is good, just a tad slow, but there's nothing wrong with slow. It seems the longer I do this, The less I need.

Less is More....

Just FYI, in cast you don't know. All Escher's are Thuringian stones. Not all Thuringians are Escher.

As Shooter mentioned, A vintage Thuringian would be awesome, especially if you can find a nice sized one.

Thanks for the info.
I assume a welsh Thuringian as posted on eBay is not a true Thuringian from Germany!

Lol no. Those stones have nothing to do with Thuringians and I don't know if they're even Welsh. Some like them though.

From a Norton 8k to a fine finisher e.g. Thuringian/Escher or CF can be quite a leap without a suitable slurry stone.

Synths are hard to beat imo. They are the fastest, most consistent, and cheapest (if we factor the size in) of the bunch. They leave a very nice edge, and are the easiest to use to their maximum, they are very good first stones, and if you want to have only one finisher, they are good for that too. I had a naniwa 12k, now I have a 10k nani, both are great, I liked the 12k a bit more because of the feel. If you don't catch HAD, they are a good choice imo.

That will never happen, but if I would have to buy only one finisher, than it would be some very nice and pricey Jnat, just because they can look very nice, and they are among the nicest finishers for a straight.

If you don't have specific constraints (like honing a lot of razors, or honing very hard steels), I would go with any 10k to 16k that fits in your budget. Naniwa SS 12k has a good reputatio as a first finishing hone (trust me, you'll buy more...) (it is consistent, not the most expensive, and gives good edges)

A vintage Thuringian costs as much as a naniwa 12k, if you re lucky you might find them even cheaper. They WILL be smaller, but, you'll be honing razors not swords.