Wyo,
I don't have a frictionite. But I have four barber's hones. A Swatty, a Cattaraugus, a Keen, and...one other I can't remember the name of. They range from 8-10k...maybe 12k. Nothing official mind you, just IMHO. The Keen is the only one that's double sided. I'd put it's coarse side grit in the neighborhood of 5-7k. Definitely coarser than my norton 8k, but finer than my norton 4k.

I can shave happily off the norton 8k. It's certainly not a deluxe edge, but it's comfortable. The Swatty adds a little something to it and is great for touching up when the edge is a couple weeks old (that's 14ish shaves). So far I go 7 x's on the swatty and I'm good for another couple weeks (although I usually go longer as I don't generally use the same razor day in and day out; I go a few months, then touch up 3 or 4 razors and go another few months).

The Cattagaurus is new to me (just picked it up this week) but seems to be finer than the swatty, maybe closer to 12k. I'm very interested to see how it handles but don't think I'll have time for a week or two.

All that to say, you can live just fine with a Norton 4/8, but a barber's hone doesn't require a soaking before use, generally adds a little to the edge, and is fantastic for maintaining your edge. In truth, if you started with a truly shave ready edge, you could go the rest of your life with one blade and one barber's hone. DON'T tell my wife that though!

Peace,
Jim