I'm very negative towards the Chinese 12K. It's so hard, it took hours and hours of backbreaking work to lap it and the results didn't justify the effort. I also like to hold the hone in my hand and the 12K is just too heavy. Why don't you make your life easy by using some chromium oxide on a paddle strop? I think you'll get your biggest bang for the buck that way.

I'm not commenting on the Shapton because I don't have one.