You now have a great set, from bevel setting to finish.
If you know what to look for, (spine wear, blade condition) you can get some great deals at antique stores and flea markets on the cheap.
Usually $20. Or less
Printable View
Did I miss it??
Do you have a lapping plate??
It is important in keeping your hones flat, as well as removing shwarf(metal filing stuck in hone)
Good choices in hones, maintenance will keep them in fighting condition.
Oh and good tip on whipped dog, i forgot he has some bargins. And then once I've gotten that ubder wraps I'll keep an eye out at flea mkts for projects :)
After the Norton I use 320. How far I take it from there depends entirely on the grit of the hone, and whether it's natural or Synthetic. For my 1k, I stop at 600. The 4k, and 8k Synthetics I stop at 2000 grit. 320 - 600-1k-2k progression. You may be able to stop sooner than that, but I figure finer grit = finer surface on the hone = finer (if slower to achieve) finish on the razor.
My natural (Guanxi hone aka C12K aka People's Hone of Indeterminate Grit [PHIG]) I ran over my 4k, then 8k Norton hones to put a finish smoother than Ceramic. May be overkill, but I like the end results. I'll probably treat my Welsh Slates the same when they arrive.
Or try SIC powder 220, 400 & 600. It's cheap goes a long way and does a great job. You can get it in higher grits if desired.
There some basic problems with the Norton Flattening Hone.
A) It does not start out very flat, so before you use it to flatten anything you have to flatten it.
B) After you use it to flatten a hone that is not flat, it will have worn unevenly, so it will no longer be flat. Also, of course, that means the hone you tried to flatten with it will not be completely flat either.
C). After using it to somewhat flatten a hone, you will have to re-flatten the flattener.