Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>Hi Denis

Where my King 8000 leaves a mirrored surface, the natural finishing stone I have does leave a matte finish.

This is not contradictory. The man made stone may be made up entirely of 8000-level grit. However natural stones are a mix of grits, in a polishing stone this may be anything between 1000 - 8000 grits. I suppose that the difference between a natural polishing stone and natural grinding stone is just the percentage of a grit type, not an absolute amount of it.

Regards from Perth

Derek