Bester 220 is a good stone. Fast, the dishing for this grit and speed is acceptable. There are many variations of 220 pink stones from different makers (Bester, Gesshin Watanabe, Naniwa, etc.) and to my understanding they are all made by the same maker although to different specifications. So similar but not the same.
The only problem I had with the Bester was, than water basically flows through it (literally - after few minutes of sharpening - before the mud would start to slowly drip down the sides of the stone - there would be a pool of clean water under it). I have glued the stone onto a hard PVC board and lacquered the sides (I used a very thin lacquer, so I needed quite a few layers to seal the stone, next time I would use something thicker and fast drying). Problem solved. Now - I permasoak the stone, as drying it in this state would take very long. But now it stopped being thirsty completely.
A few words on the AI#220 - I asked about it Shinichi and he told me that it is a bit more dish resistant than the Bester, but that the difference is not large, so I did not buy one as I already had the Bester.
When I am sharpening cheapo stainless knives I go Atoma 140 (if the knife needs some thinning), then 400 (or 300) and 1000, although I use the 1000 basically for burr removal only (usually under slightly larger angle). I think just 400 edge is really a bit too coarse. But it really depends on the knife (there are differences even in the 'dirt cheap' category)
