true. thanks mainaman. since im so new any type of natural honing i was looking/hoping to minimize some new variables. even with synthetics i only have a solid year+ under my belt so i dont feel fully 'connected' with the stones. was just wondering roughly where a zulu fell on the hardness scale.

besides traditional jnats, what other stones have been used to good effect with nagura? can you use a 12k nani? or would that be too soft and transfer its own grit to the swarf and muck things up?