[QUOTE=gratewhitehuntr;110429]I have Tilly's starter pack of a cushion strop, a Gem, and a Lithide.

Cushion strop---------good
Gem---------------------good
Lithide------------------JUNK!!!

[QUOTE]

I have these three hones and, while I don't think the Lithide is JUNK, I'll just say its one of the more inconsistent/problematic hones. Even after much lapping, including using the 8k side of the Norton, its still a PIA and I don't use it as a finishing hone - too coarse.

I agree that the Cushion Strop (medium) and Gem (medium-fine) are good little hones.

I also have the following hones:

Little Devil (very coarse/coarse) - good for lapping other hones, setting a bevel on new razors and/or e-bay razors in decent shape.

Amalgamite (fine) - good hone - I can shave off of it, but I generally use it as the second-to-last hone before going to my finishing hones.

American Hone - not a bad finishing hone, especially at $10 for a hone in almost mint condition on e-bay.

Apart - very good finishing hone, I think its similar to a Swaty (made in Marburg, Austria) and a steal at $10 (in very good condition, very little use no chips, etc) on e-bay. This is my go-to finishing hone and I get very nice edges I do a few strokes dry and then a few more with water or lather. The edges I get off of the Apart are very good (I rate them as comparable to the edge I get off of the .5 diamond paste) and smooth. It also works well on all of my razors (but haven't tried it on my wedges yet), regardless of size or material.

One of the tips I picked up frome someone off the board is to hold a barber's hone firmly enough to provide a stable surface, but no so tightly that there's no give/float. The explanation why this works is because it gives the hone a little play/float that allows the razor to find the proper angle along its entire length and allows you to compensate for any small irregularities/uneven spots along the lenght of the blade.

I really like my barber's hones - there's a lot of trial and error involved, which is why I use a practice razor to play with a new hone to get a sense of where it fits in with my other hones in terms of coarseness and how to get the best results from it.

I have gotten NOS razors shaving sharp in about 15 minutes using nothing but a succession of 3 - 4 hones of various grits.