Arkansas stones can require some practice, effort, and learning. The 20k is pretty much fool proof. It all depends on what you want. Do you love to figure things out? The lure of natural rocks vs man made, the pride of learning an advanced system? Or do you enjoy consistent, easy edges, without much effort involved? I don’t know that one is “better” than the other. One is “better “ for me though. I can see why the 20k gets so much love but I can also see why some knuckleheads are in love with a natural Rock. I have been romancing the Stone since I began. I don’t think this 20k stone will change that BUT you never know.