Oldengaerde's reply was colored by a rant I sent him an hour before his post, I doubt it was directed at you, jcsixx, or maybe not more than a little bit lol. The rant was about an antique shop we both know and occasionly buy vintage hones from. They sometimes offer unique stones but often don't know exactly what they're selling. They're familiar with Charnley Forest Hones and their popularity and because of that they are eager to label anything remotely green as a Charnley Forest and price them as such. I had already bought 5 so called CFs from them, each of them something else and this time they had sold me another slate

I suggested to Oldengaerde to give them some pointers on how to recognize a real CF on his next visit.

It is hard to find good stones and any tips given by the 'pros' will make it a little bit harder and expensive for them to keep finding them. However I'm always eager to help identify a new purchase which often helps me find more diamonds in the rough as well.