Quote Originally Posted by mainaman View Post
It means it may have hard particles that scratch the bevels and possibly damage the edge. Sometimes such particles are found in the lines some stones have. If you buy from a reputable source you'll not have to deal with that issue.
Alex and Takeshi have a solid name with stones. When I do buy I will buy from a reputable vendor Like them.
They have different ways of rating them. Takeshi is a gent I have bought several strops. He doesn't have anything over 8.9.at the moment. I'm confused about the ++ thing. I've read that Takeshi has had 9.2 and 9.4 stones in the past. So what does 9.2 and 9.4 equal to on the "+" scale? On Alex's site he will tell you when a particular stone will finish with only clear water. I've heard of stones that are 9+++ usally scratchy. So it it possible to get a 9++ stone or 9+++ without being scratchy? So if you can finish on clear water does that indicate that the stone is not scratchy?