Is it strange that my favorite ~8k is a barber hone?
I've been using a barber hone after the King 6k in my progression for most of the time I've been honing. I recently picked up a small AJ DT / gray WHIG, whatever. I can use it with acceptable results between the 6k and my PHIG, but it's slower than the barber hone and the takes more effort to get the same result. Slurry helps, but why bother with more strokes while diluting slurry when the barber hone just gets it right quicker?
Am I the only one here using a barber hone as part of the regular progression rather than as a touchup hone? Should I bother trying to replace it with a proper pre-finisher, and am I likely to get better results if I did?