Advice on Welsh slate stone please

Hi,

I am in the UK and a seller has lots of different grade Welsh Slate stones at what seem like very good prices. What are your views on this type of stone, I guess it may vary from seller to seller as well?
Are they worth trying? Just the fairly low cost is making think about the quality.
I have sharpened my limited knife collection with basic equipment over the years to a pretty good level that I find ok but obviously not up to the level that most on here would get. Are the Slate stones ok for someone who understands the basics of stone sharpening is by no means an expert:O
I have also just started on what will probably be a long road into the world of Japanese knives, so whatever stones I buy would be used mainly for Japanese knives if that makes a difference?
Any advice greatly appreciated:biggrin:

Just as I am typing a courier has just delivered a Hiromoto AS from JCK, wow 3 days from ordering, great service
Warren

I have one, its a nice natural stone and mine has a bit of range with slurry to water. It will be about 6kish.
To be honest though in a pro environment it does not get used as the ceramic stones are far more efficient. My ceramics do what the slate does in just a few passes rather than 30. It is a very hard stone though so quite unforgiving for your bevel angles on knives, a few people like this stone as a mid way stone on razors.
Really its not ideal for knives, but its cheap and interesting and it does work Also Its a natural, so your mileage may vary.
Lots of choice for ceramics , but my go to stones are the chosera, They are hard enough for regular use without dishing all over the place, and soft and fast enough to raise a slurry and cut quick. You could get by with 1k and 5k. Or there a bouts. I think if i was shopping now I would be tempted to try the JNS , 1k and 6k. Either way Invest and forget. My Chosera's will be going for many years even with my usage.

I ordered them out of curiosity. They get your knife sharp, no doubt, but are in no way comparable to a similar priced synthetic or a jnat. They are super hard (thus very unforgiving and can also be scratchy on singel bevels...). They should be great for razors....

Are these comparable with either coticules or belgian blues?

Thanks for the replies.
Looks like I will give the Slate a miss then and stick to the more traditional stones especially as I need to get my sharpening up to a higher standard.