Quote Originally Posted by dirkr View Post
So.. I think I'll start with a 12K Naniwa and build from there.. without any major problems this should keep me going for a while I guess

Again, appreciate the effort and info!
Not to confuse you, but I would get in addition to the Naniwa 12k, a paste on .50 microns, be CrOx, Diamond spray or CBN on hard wool felt. It will help in smoothing any roughness left by not using optimum finishing strokes on the Naniwa 12k. Even when you get the most of the 12k, some people prefer the smoothness they get from the CrOx or any other .50 paste.

If I had to do it over again, I would have bought along with my 16k Shapton glass, a hard wool felt strop from SRD, they have one with two strops on it, that would be a potential of 4 different paste for a nice CBN progression 1 micron, .5, .25 and .1 micron. I would start with .5 CBN only after you get a good shave from the Naniwa 12k. Start with 5 strokes and do increments of 5 till you find the sweet spot (more strokes don't feel any smoother or the edge goes back on sharpness). When you get that down, then I would venture to do a progression on CBN pastes.

Even if you don't want to ever get into pastes, I recommend at the very least a CrOx pasted smoothing. It will make your transition from newbie honer to experience one much smoother than without. Double O