I haven’t fallen into the natural stone rabbit hole (yet
Refinement on a natural stone tends to be slower, and the stones, themselves, are inconsistent. The feel can be marvelous, and the natural stone scratch patterns will impart a different feel to the edge. Definitely fun to play with, but time consuming. Also, and most relevant to stainless, is that while all of the natural abrasives have Mohs hardness that is greater than stainless steel as a material, not all the abrasives have Mohs hardness greater than the chromium carbides within the metal matrix. Aluminum oxide, OTOH, does.
Refinement on a natural stone tends to be slower, and the stones, themselves, are inconsistent. The feel can be marvelous, and the natural stone scratch patterns will impart a different feel to the edge. Definitely fun to play with, but time consuming. Also, and most relevant to stainless, is that while all of the natural abrasives have Mohs hardness that is greater than stainless steel as a material, not all the abrasives have Mohs hardness greater than the chromium carbides within the metal matrix. Aluminum oxide, OTOH, does.