"fine grain" developers aka D76, T-Max RS and such became popular due to 35mm and roll film B&W negatives need to reduce the film grain effect when prints are made from these negatives. All sorts of gyrations are made in an effort to achieve an essentially grain free print from these smaller roll film formats.
The brute force solution to the grain and contrast gradation issues so difficult to tame using small film format roll film can be essentially "hammered" by sheet film 4x5 and larger with enlargements not more than 4x. Once the obsession with fine grain developers and such is removed, the many other aspects of B&W print making can be achieved with reasonable effort.
Developers like Kodak HC-110, Rodinal, Beutler "blue" and similar developers work better for sheet film where the obsession with fine grain is not an issue. Suggest down loading this book about developers by Jacobson, purchase a gram scale, proper lab glassware, magnetic mixer and stir bar, powered chemistry, filtered water and mix your own chemistry as needed. This affords FAR fresher chemistry, better consistency once mixing chemistry skills are properly developed and applied and allows experimenting, discovering developers and related to suit your print making needs.
http://www.processreversal.org/publi...developing.pdf
Once upon decades ago there was a publication known as the Photo Lab Index, another trove of darkroom chemistry recipes from a time when lots of photographs mixed their own as needed.
Bernice
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