So i've been doing my research about the differences in these stones and what i get from people at shapton is that they are made to be more adaptable to our climate rather than japans. I also hear people say that they have the kuromaku and don't have any issues with them. But what I'm actually wondering is if there is someone out there that has used both the pro stones and the kuromaku stones and get some input if they really are just the same exact stone but shapton is jacking up the price for the US market. Also i have heard that both the 12k kuromaku and the 15k pro is the same stone itself. i actually have both sets of stones on the way but being that I'm a newbie to the sharpening world I'm not really going to be able to tell if there is a difference and know which ones to send back to Amazon. I'd really like to get some input on this so that i can possibly save some money

Thanks guys!
Fonz