Traditional Naniwa Synth Stone: 1.5k > 8K
I have a traditional 1.5k Naniwa synth that I picked up a couple of years back to experiment in cutting it down to smaller size. As such, it works well as a mild bevel-setter for hand-held honing and I have been thinking to pick up a finer stone from the same series to complement it. The problem is that the series itself is limited: 220, 1k, 1.5k, 6k, and 8k. This would appear to suggest that it is intended as a two-step system with knives: 1k > 6k or 1.5k > 8k. With razors, I suppose 1.5k > 6k would be more prudent, followed by a natural finishing stone, but I still tempted by 1.5k > 8k and leaving things at that. And if I were to pick up the 8k and cut it down to a smaller size as well, I would have smaller 1.5k and 8k pieces to use as rubbing stones. Could these be put to good effect in order to bridge the gap between 1.5k and 8k?
By way of comparison, a couple of years ago, I did play around with a King 1.2k/8k combo and found that it could yield a pretty decent shaving edge used in tandem with the Ice Bear nagura. The nagura really came into play at the end, rather than being used as a slurry in between, to clear the mud and swarf from the 8k after some use, leading to a cleaner water finish. My understanding is that the Naniwa nagura stone is a small piece of 800 Pro/Chosera; and again, it's intended use is to clean the hone surface, rather than generate a slurry.