I received the first stone a week ago. As many people have pointed out here, it wasn't flat. With a straight edge, I was able to insert a .005" feeler gauge between the edge and the stone. After fiddling around for a while I was able to get it down to .0015", but it was still a lot more than what was listed so I decided to send it back. A few days later I received my replacement unit and it did not meet the specifications. Satisfied, I lubricated it with lapping fluid and began leveling the new plane. After about 5 minutes of ironing on the 300 grit I noticed that I left almost no scratches. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the 300 side had absolutely no notches. It felt very smooth. By flipping I've been able to make progress on the 1000 grit side, a few more tests on different spots of the 300 grit with different tools and I can confirm it doesn't cut at all. So I'm sending this one back now and will try again with a third one. I will update this review with my third results. crossed fingers