japanese stone

Does anyone know what kind of stone this is? It looks like an "Awase" but if so it didn't go for much...

Based upon the little I know about Japanese Hones it appears to me that the lighter the stone color the finer the Hone as far a grit goes. Then once you establish the grit size the better quality stones are the most uniform in appearance. The more coloration ie veins and inclusions the stone has the more inferior it is.

Based upon the selling price of that stone it would appear to not be a real quality hone. Its appearance does not indicate quality to me either. It might be good for woodworking tools but not for a straight.

The stone that I got is very light in color, much lighter than the coticule, just a touch of grey to it and has a few yellow spots in it but not much. It is smaller than this one and is quite old and I paid $150 for it.

Some of the most figured stones go for an absolute fortune and they have numerous different names for different types of figuring, of which I've only been told of a few like the crows, lotus, river etc. so you can't say the more colouration the more inferior.
The fact that it looks like it has been glued to a base means you can't see the back which is important to collectors and there is no type, layer or mine mentioned so you'd be taking a chance with the poor pic.

You have to realize that like with razors there are people who collect them by brand or scale type and these people don't give a rats a** about how they shave. The same with Japanese Hones. There are people who collect them based upon the colors and the patterns which can be very beautiful. They don't care how well it hones thats not why they collect them. I can tell you from a geological perspective the best honer will be one that is very homogenious throughout. If it has veins or areas of mineralization in it those areas will have different honing characteristics than the rest of the hone. Unless those are just mineral stains on the surface from weathing like the colors in Mamouth ivory.

Your correct about the back and that the point about stones for honers and stones for collectors.