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[grepper]

...My main issue so far has been finding a supplier with a good variety.  So far TruGrit seems to have the biggest range of product in 1x42, but I'll keep looking.

I've never been able to find a single source for every belt I want.  You just have to bite the bullet and pay shipping from several sources.  Another good place with a nice variety of belts is:

https://www.supergrit.com/products/products_belts

For Cubitron 150 and others:
https://www.rshughes.com/p/3M-Cubitron-7...111_67951/

Surgi-Sharp Leather Belts:
http://www.surgisharp.com/surgi-sharp-1x...AHIAZQA%3d

I have not personally tested edges using the BESS system, but reading the chart, it seems like 100 to 150 BESS edges are very, very sharp.  My objective tests are mainly: Arm Hair, Phonebook or Ad Copy paper, Thumbnail, Three finger

A couple of things here.  Brian, PLEASE don't do the creepy three finger test that dude in a bathrobe shows on YouTube.  Sliding fingers along the length of a sharp blade can likely result in epidermal leakage.  Additionally, the information it provides is basically useless.  IMHO, it's a creepy, useless and bad test that makes about as much sense as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvLuDRsEMCY

Cutting paper and arm hair shaving are OK as a quick test to see if you are in the ballpark.  Hanging on a thumbnail is not too bad.  I actually use it as a quick test.  A blade has to be pretty sharp to hang with the slightest of touch to a thumbnail.

The most IMPORTANT info I can pass along is get a BESS tester!  PT50B or PT50A.  I use the PT50B.  You will literally  learn more in the first 90 days of using it than with a lifetime of slicing paper or shaving arm hair.  It is the ONLY way to really understand your edges, sharpening, improve and understand your technique and what all this stuff means.

If you care about sharpening a BESS tester is an absolute must have.  Without it, understanding what you are doing is just a guess and subjective.  For years of sharpening I always wondered how sharp my edges were.  I searched around and discovered EOU and the BESS tester.  Really it's the only game in town.  

I had wasted so much money on sharpening equipment I was wary.  I didn't want to dump another $150+ into another closet queen.  So I hesitated, procrastinated and put off the purchase for more than a year.  I scoured the Internet and researched it to death. I called and spoke with Mike at EOU and got all my questions answered.  Still I put off the purchase.  

Finally I couldn't stand it any more.  I bit the bullet, pulled the trigger and purchased the PT50B.  On the very first test my forehead got much flatter because I slapped it so hard with the palm of my hand.  I immediately wished I had purchased one years before.  It literally changes everything.  Did I mention it's a must have?  I know they are a bit pricey, but just get one.  They are wonderful accurate instruments that will teach you more about your edges than anything else.  You won't be sorry.

Not only will a tester show things like where there is still burr along the edge or if your technique is producing even edges, but also is the only way to communicate how sharp your edges are with other folks.  It is the world wide standard for communicating sharpness. It puts a number on sharpness.  Like degrees are to temperature, BESS numbers are to sharpness.  Everyone in the world who owns a BESS tester knows and totally understands exactly what a 100 - 130 edge is.  It is the defacto world standard for communicating edge sharpness.

Putting a number on sharpness changed everything.  It's the difference between saying it's 32°F and sticking your head out the window and saying, yup feels pretty cold.  I can say it's a 140 edge, but without a tester folks are left to wonder if it shaves arm hair or how creepy it feels doing the three finger test.  Just get an edge tester and never look back.

Got to give credit where credit is due.  Mike Brubacher at EOU created BESS only a few years ago, and gave the world a tremendous gift in doing so.  Additionally he provided us with affordable, reliable and accurate testing equipment.  I think it's an amazing accomplishment to create a world wide standard that changed knife sharpening forever.  Thank you Mr. Mike!

All show different things, but of course none of them measure force. Push cutting phonebook against the grain is a very high level of sharpness as far as I'm concerned. I'm guessing 150 BESS is in that range.

Umm... I happen to know of a way you can quit guessing.