Originally Posted by Joe Chandler
A coticule or escher are my choices. A pasted strop (Tony Miller makes good ones) is another popular alternative, and much easier to come by than either of the stones. A good pasted strop is also pretty easy to make yourself. Modern coticules apparently have some severe quality control problems, and Eschers are damn near unobtainable by anyone with budgetary constraints. :D You can get a good shaving edge with just the 8k, though. A lot of folks make that their final honing step.