Ass Clown,
For what it's worth, I started with Smith stones(8"), Washita and hard Arkansas and while they did a good job of sharpening they wore rapidly. A friend gave me a Norton medium grit(man made) 8" bench stone over 25 years ago and I was so pleased with it that I gave the Smith stones away. It has sharpened a lot of knives,(a couple made of D-2) over the years and still looks near new.
Stepchild