Quote Originally Posted by Southbound View Post
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?
I have no idea what the 9.2 or 9.4 means, until a clear definition is presented for rankings. For razors you want a stone does not self slurry and is fine enough to produce keen shaving edge.
On the 1-5 scale typically a lvl 5 stone is considered good for razors. 5+ or more just usually means harder compared to the standard which is lvl 5. A stone to be fine, a very fine stone at lvl 4.5 will produce superb shaving edges just fine. To sum it up there are several factors to consider in regards to a J-Nat.

A very hard stone usually benefits from using a softer tomonagura and working the slurry well. The scratches that may appear may be artifacts from previous grit levels or contamination as well but in general honing with slurry should take care of that.