Depending on how my attempts on this are received I may create a new chart dedicated to natural whetstones which would remove a lot of constraints I am presently applying.
I'd say create a new chart or separate page in your current one. That's just my opinion though.
My own opinion would echo Mike's. I think a separate chart, presented consecutively, would be the ideal. As you say; as well as freeing up space and preventing information overload, slight differences in the format would allow you to convey more nuance. And I would do that chart in relation to JIS and
perhaps microns as a standard reference, rather than any of the other scales for two reasons:
Firstly - Whatever one used could obviously then be cross-referenced back to the original chart anyway. But the kind of people using natural stones are going to be most familiar with JIS, and IME often don't even know that other systems exist.
Secondly - Differences in binder and hardness of JIS rated Japanese synthetic stones affects them in ways that are often fairly similar to natural stones. A hard Naniwa 5k will absolutely finish your edge higher and polish very differently from a soft Suehiro 5k. And so by rating natural stones in comparison to JIS, you are
already implicitly acknowledging some of these other factors that blur and affect their behaviour.
But I think the chart is very valuable. And even these rough drafts are better than anything similar on the web.
Absolutely ^this^!
Anybody who has sold a natural stone to someone who hasn't had that type before, or bought a stone of a type you haven't had before, will recognize the value here I think. Whenever I sell stones stones I try to give a a range estimate, because if I didn't then people wouldn't buy them. And likewise when I buy stones I don't know much about (i.e. jnats) I do ask for a rough estimation of where they sit.
A chart like this is definitely achievable in a way that will be useful to a lot of people, imo. Keep going MR.W!
Is there any non-confusing name for these stones that people would recognize? Would you rate your sample of the "Goldfisch Wetzstein" similarly? Are these even common enough to merit charting?
I would certainly say that the Goldfisch Wetzstein and the fancy label La Lorraine are so niche that they don't warrant including. And whether they’re exactly the same thing or not is also up in the air.
Maybe on some of the German language forums / community they might be more common(?), but in the English-speaking sharpening community - I can think of very few people who own either.
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Finally, just to re-iterate something I said at the start of this thread; your work
@Mr.Wizard on the original chart is absolutely superb, and hugely appreciated! I've used it as a reference point for years.
It's obvious that an awful lot of research went into it, but what I'd not thought about or appreciated until now was how impressive the design of it is. Which itself is (obviously) - the highest of compliments. Presenting a large amount of information in a way that is seamless, and intuitive, and unnoticeable, is the
really difficult thing.
I look forward to seeing how you tackle the probably even larger hurdle of natural whetstones…