The names reflect their [properties, but the same mine and stone can react differently. I have 6 jnats. The best bang for my buck was shuobodani 100 from JNS. You can get a asano nagura set but you can also use dmt slurry with it and get great results. Some of the level 5+ stones are very hard to use for beginners. My experience may be different from yours with the same stone. The way these tones work is the slurry gets broken down as you hone into finer particles and that is what gives you the finer edge. Water only is not recommended for beginers.