Hi everyone,

I am getting ready to order my first set of hones in the next couple of days, and am still wavering between a few different options, so I thought I'd post here and elicit some feedback and comments (I am hoping that this will prove helpful to other newbies as well).

Before I begin, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

-I buy quite a few razors on ebay, so do want a setup that will allow me to restore an edge from scratch. I won't be buying blades with chunks missing, obviously, but there might be some dings, rust/pitting, etc. You know the type of thing I mean.

-I already have a 4 sided paddle strop from Tony with 3, 1, and .5 diamond pastes, as well as .5 green Chromium. I've used the Chromium a number of times with good results, and have also had success on the one or two occasion when I dropped down to larger grits.

-Based on my experiences with my paddle strop (1") and my hanging strop (3"), I think I'd like to stick with stones that are at least 2" wide for now, as I sometimes have a hard time keeping the blade flat on the paddle.

-Weight should not really be an issue for me, as I intend to place the hones on table when using them. This is what I do with my paddle strop, and it's worked really well so far.

So, with that in mind, here are a few options I'm considering:

1) Norton 4000/8000, DMT 8x3 Coarse, 6x2 yellow Coticule

-I've heard good things about the yellow Coticules, but they are expensive, so...

2) Norton 4000/8000, DMT 8x3 Coarse, Chinese 12000k

-reasonably priced, but not as much feedback as the coticule?

3) Spyderco M/F/UF

-quite cheap, and lots of people seem to like them. I'm a little worried about the lack of concensus regarding lapping, however. In addition, I hear they cut very fast, which might not be a good thing for a newbie...

4) Other options?