Todd Stock
>I've been going direct from 1200 diamond to 8000 Norton, even after grinding on the Tormek. The 4000 might be a good finish stone for those that are sharpening tools for carpentry tasks, but I've not found it useful for fine work. That said, I use diamond to flatten and one time through a half dozen finer diamond grits to mirror polish the blade the first time out. If you are flattening blades using waterstones (instead of diamond paste), then the intermediate grits sound like a good idea.

FWIW, I wish that I could see some differences in the King, Shapton, and Norton 8000 or so grit finish stones, but they all produce about the same final edge on my blades. Different feel, different maintenance requirements, but pretty much the same performance in ebony, rosewood, mahogany, and other guitar woods.