Bruce, a MN Galoot
I can freehand an edge probably as fast as you, Steve, but could you do that the very first time you tried it? I couldn’t, and that was roughly 60 years ago on a very dished out oilstone.

Everyone has to start someplace, and if they can’t succeed in a short amount of time, they frequently don’t do it again. I gave a demo to three rank beginners on Tuesday, one a retired airline pilot and the two others were mid-aged women with zero experience. Not only that but they didn’t want to spend even $5 to get started. A sheet of 400 or 600 paper and a piece of scrap glass will do the trick. Once we get them rolling, we can move on to other methods.

The very best woodworker I’ve ever seen or even heard of uses a single 800 King stone. He says if you need more than that you don’t know what you’re doing.