Hi Bob,

I'm going to align myself with the folks recommending the Norton 4/8 and a DMT 325 plate to lap it. I've got a few coticules, and only one of them is really good. If you buy just one and it works well for you, you're a lucky man. But like everything from nature, there's a lot of variation. If you get one that's not a very good honer, and you're just learning to hone, how will you know if you're making reasonable progress? The Norton 4/8 is as close to a plain vanilla razor hone as there is; if you use one and have questions there are probably two or three hundred folks here who, at some point, had exactly the same questions themselves. My own first honing success came from doggedly following the pyramid honing instructions (see our wiki) on the Norton. And if you decide you don't like honing, you can resell your Norton without too much of a loss. An unproven, smallish coticule won't hold its value that well, in my opinion--especially if you list it honestly, saying something like "Tried to learn honing on this stone, and hated every minute of it, never got a sharp razor."

I did a coticule swap for a few weeks with a fellow at the other end of the country, so I could experience a "fast" coticule, and so he could evaluate the old one I found in a family toolbox. Turns out that one is very, very slow--and a very nice finisher. Too slow to be a bevel setter, though.

Good luck to you, and best wishes.