Hi,
There is a fairly extensive thread on the Spyderco website General Forum with testing (Cliff Stamp) and photos about the "CBN" stones which, I think, will answer your questions. I haven't gone through the whole thread in detail yet, but if I'm not mistaken, they are more on par with the diamond sticks and much more aggressive than the brown stones. I'm going to give them a try. Mike
And thanks for the heads up. I was wondering when they would be available.