I tried the barbers hone route but I guess I got a cause I couldn't refresh an edge for nothing on that. I recently got a Coti and BBW from The Perfect Edge and it's a vast improvement from the barber hone. I know most recommended stones were the 4k/8k Norton but to me it felt right getting the Coti & BBW. I'll learn on the way.
My opinion FWIW? If you want to spend the minimum to refresh a blade, lapping film is the way to go. 1 micron film and something flat, and you're good. If you need to go from bevel set to shave ready, you could get a cheap 1k King and lapping film for the whole progression, or if you really want stones, a 1k King, a Shobudani 100 and a 9 micron dmt card to raise a slurry.That combo will go from bevel set to shave ready really well, and is real easy to learn. Alternatively you could replace the Shobu with a coticule. A lot of folks say the coticule is harder to learn. IME, personally, it took me just slightly longer to get really good edges off of my coticule, but it was not as difficult to do as you read about on the forums. Hone, pay attention to what you are doing, what the water/slurry is doing at the edge, shave, repeat. It will come. MHO.
