Thank you very much Pete! I love learning about new things (especially when it comes to tools and cutting things ^_^), so hoping I'll fit right in here. Great anecdote about using the newspaper. That's actually how I first stropped my knives, with some newspaper over my first synthetic stone that was a 1k/6k combo. I've learned to enjoy the fancier abrasives, but haven't forgotten that you can get a lot done with a lone (or two) hone