I'm not new to sharpening, but I have a new custom damascus knife that hasn't been fully sharpened. Hardness 56-58. The seller said I could return it, but it's a good knife, and decided I'd finish it myself. I didn't have a rough stone so I ordered an expensive 2 grit water stone and tried it out. Didn't work so I got another finer grit and still no. I was very annoyed at this point, so I looked what I know. Natural Arkansas Stones with Oil. That's enough for 20 minutes of work, so 5 stars. It's a little rough when first used, but smoothes out after a few minutes. So stop complaining about graininess. It needs to be broken in like a good pair of boots. And I'm wrong on a lot of reviews, and none that long, but I'm very impressed with this product.