Natepaint - I know where you're coming; I want spoon-fed as well. I've been reading all of this stuff for a couple months straight, and I have more comments, videos, and opinions than I know what to do with. It's pertinent to look before you leap, but I feel at some point we've just got to jump in and feel the water for ourselves. So much of this material is subjective and dependent on personal preference/experience that it's hard to get a newbie started at ground zero with a beginner's game plan. Personally I'm looking at the Norton combo like this to get me started on sharpening. A 220/1000 stone, 4000/8000k stone, and a lapping stone sound like a pretty good start to me. Norton seems to be the common denominator for beginner's and there are plenty of video tutorials with these stones, including those from Lynn. I'm sure with some experience I'll find Shaptons, Japenese stones, Coticules, and various barber stones more fitting, but I really need to get my hands dirty with some antique shop razor specials that I don't mind learning on.