I used to scratch my head when Lynn used to say certain stones were made for razors. Now I think I understand what he meant. The norton 8 and chosera 10 have a completely different feel. The n 8 feels softer and IMO is softer as it dishes at a faster rate than the chosera 10. This may come into play with smoothness. Im not speaking for Lynn, but this makes sense to me. I may be wrong about the reason though. I find the grit ratings to be purposely confusing(LOL) I have a suehiro 20k that is rated at .5 microns, the shapton 30k is rated at .49 microns. Thats a big difference. I know the old rating vs new rating. But what is it, 20 or 30? Doesnt matter to me as that is only one part of the whole picture. I find naturals now less confusing as they dont rate the stones by grit!