This round, DHL (particularly DHL Australia) delivered the service. Given that the package was posted Monday night our time, it arrived at my door Thursday midday. Haven't received a package from Maxim this quick for a long time, but most usual, a delay on DHL Australia part.
Had a chance to try the stone a bit with my Sakai Takayuki usuba. The very first impression is, this stone is big; bigger than JNS 1k which is already bigger than nestor 1.2k. This is a plus for me as thin stone wear down, it is a bit more cumbersome to use with stone holder i.e. have to find a way to lift the sharpening surface up somehow. And it is a drinker, after 30 minutes soak, it produces some bubbling noise when I pull it up to start sharpening.
Now for some usage, I can only give a quick comparison to other stones that I have within this range: JNS 1k, bestor 700, bestor 1.2k, and king 800.
Hardness: JNS1k > bestor 1.2k > JNS800 > bestor 700 > king 800 from hardest to softest.
Speed: bestor 700, JNS 1k > bestor 1.2k, JNS800 and possibly > king 800 from faster to slower.
Fineness on hagane: I think is on par with JNS1k and bestor 1.2k for hagane, and better than bestor 700 and king 800
Fineness and evenness on jigane as a whole: JNS800 > bester 1.2k > king 800 > bester 700 > JNS 1k
As Maxim said that this stone is a very good candidate for wide bevel knives, I do concur. Jigane color that I got was daker, more even, and seems finer than king 800. Possibly similar in grit and fineness to bestor 1.2k finish, but it is quite a bit easier to get even finish with JNS800.
That's it for now as an initial impression. Thank again Maxim, for another fun toy.