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Hi Jeff, great questions. The Green Brick of Joy is not, as far as we know, just a larger version of a previous or existing stone. It seems to be a one-of-a-kind formula from Naniwa. It's quite soft, so will produce slurry quickly, great for creating a good polish. However, you'll need to flatten regularly. The size more than makes up for this regular flattening, and it's ability to polish well makes it more of a one-stone solution. Add the Snow White and you've got a very nice two stone setup. I'd recommend If you're looking for a 2k and 8k soaking stone set, the Naniwa Traditional stones (with either the new 8k or Snow White) will work great. At the higher grits, they don't soak up much water. Our in-house stones don't have a 2k option. We've got 3k/8k combination stones as a slightly more economical option, or you can buy them as individual stones. Our stones can be stored in water long-term, so you can have them soaking and ready to go anytime. The Cerax stones are only available in 320 or 1k grit. Our stones feel a little grittier to other soaking stones, which can sometimes feel a little slick.

the naniwa 2k brick is a fantastic stone. Definitely not a soaker though.

@@westcoastwarriorsarchive7929 talking about the traditional line and or green brick not the pro/chosera. I ended up going with Suhero for a soaker pair.

The hardest stone material is always going to be diamonds. If you like the feel of water stones then Naniwa and Nano-Hone both have diamond resin stones. They've got the cutting power of diamonds, but they wear down and reveal fresh abrasives like water stones. DMT and Atoma make great diamond plates (diamonds bonded to a steel surface). Then there are the Shapton GlassStone HC stones that were developed specifically for high-carbon steels. Ultimately any stone will work, they just cut a little slower against some of the super steels with high abrasion resistance. That said, I've yet to get my hands on any Maxamet or Rex 121!

“If you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.”