I'm new to the forum and new to honing. I just got my Norton Starter set in the mail today. I've got 2 questions if anyone could help me out with. And for the record my razor simply has "Professional Razor" stamped on it. It was part of a "starter" set I bought off of Amazon.com a few months ago.

1. There is discoloration in the 8K side of the stone, is this normal? Where the discoloration is, it is also very rough.
I know people say they need to be lapped up to an 1/8 of an inch before being able to be used. But this seems like it might be a defect to me. I lapped it for 5 minutes and it slightly improved but not much.

2. Should I learn to hone on my cheap razor or learn to hone on a razor that can take an edge? I know I need a decent razor, but don't want to ruin a decent one learning to hone on it. But then, how can I learn on a razor that can't take an edge?

And I've gotten a few decent shaves off the cheap razor, but nothing better then what an electric razor could do.