Yeah I have been doing a little reading lately and was surprised how different the old washita grades could be. Hopefully I can find a lily white or no 1. I haven't seen a rosy red but will definately check it out, thank you!

My coarsest oilstone(pure abrasive stones vs abrasive in matrix) is my drab green 10" charnley and it's not very coarse. It is a little softer than my Norton(can slurry with DMT without too much effort) but definately not near the softer ark levels. It was probably the type of charn woodworkers liked.

Novaculite is cool stuff. If the turkey stones didn't sell so high they would also be on my radar.