I am coming to another crossroad in honing. I have a bottom end that I like that consists of a Coticule and in the middle of some Shapton stones. Finishing consists of a 16K Shapton then on to the 0.5 and 0.25 diamond pastes on a paddle strop and finally I have started using a 0.1 film for the final polish. I also use a films of assorted grits for blades that have a very hard steel to cut down on chipping.

So on to the question. Is a 30K Shapton going to help me get to the final finish I am looking for or should I go to a Japanese natural, or even something else? Any help would be appreciated. The 30K is a chunk of change and I don't like making those mistakes. Been lucky thus far by reading post here at SRP but the top end is very elusive to me.


Thanks,
Richard