Thread: Waiting for my first straight.

you probably want to pick up some sort of an optical magnification. at a minimum a 30x loupe.
after you compare the honed edge with yours you may decide to start below 4000 grit. but give it a try first and see how far the norton gets you.
as far as hone beyond 8k, sure, most of us have quite a few of these, but that's not the problem new guys have. it's usually the bevel stage where they fail and of course then they can spend the eternity without much chance of improving the edge.
i can shave comfortably off a 8k norton and last week i even shaved off 1200 grit dmt which was not bad at all (not that i have reason or desire to be doing it beyond this one time). it really depends on the razor and your ability.