Thread: American vs. Japanese Grit numbers

Originally Posted by airbus001

What do you mean by the Chinese Hone is not 12k? What would you rate it from experience?

I hope this has clarified a little of this for you.
Individual rocks do vary in their cutting ability. Natural hones have grit of varying sizes.
Some of the components of the rock have cutting capacity and some of them don't.
Their ratios can vary.
The abrasive components of the rock may vary in their ability to produce slurry, which is the abrasive that has released from the stone and is suspended in the water on the hone. When the released abrasives, aka grit, are floating in the water they can vary in their cutting/polishing capacity based upon their shape and their friability. FYI, friability is the degree to which the grits break down into smaller pieces, effectively reducing their size, thus increasing their grit rating, and therefore increasing the fineness of the polish-ability of the hone.

I think that is technically correct definition of friable but I also tend to think of it in terms of hone's action. Arkansas/non-friable. BBW/friable. Or, simply the ability of the hone to release fresh abrasive.

Thank You everyone for your replies.