diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 21591ba..8c72f5a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -130,6 +130,44 @@ If you desire normalization for keys and values (e.g. to stringify numbers), wra
 
 Another reason you might want to use `encoding-down` is that the structured clone algorithm, while rich in types, can be slower than `JSON.stringify`.
 
+### Sort Order
+
+Unless `level-js` is wrapped with [`encoding-down`][encoding-down], IndexedDB will sort your keys in the following order:
+
+1. number (numeric)
+2. date (numeric, by epoch offset)
+3. binary (bitwise)
+4. string (lexicographic)
+5. array (componentwise).
+
+You can take advantage of this fact with `levelup` streams. For example, if your keys are dates, you can select everything greater than a specific date (let's be happy and ignore timezones for a moment):
+
+```js
+const db = levelup(leveljs('time-db'))
+
+db.createReadStream({ gt: new Date('2019-01-01') })
+  .pipe(..)
+```
+
+Or if your keys are arrays, you can do things like:
+
+```js
+const db = levelup(leveljs('books-db'))
+
+await db.put(['Roald Dahl', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'], {})
+await db.put(['Roald Dahl', 'Fantastic Mr Fox'], {})
+
+// Select all books by Roald Dahl
+db.createReadStream({ gt: ['Roald Dahl'], lt: ['Roald Dahl', '\xff'] })
+  .pipe(..)
+```
+
+To achieve this on other `abstract-leveldown` implementations, wrap them with [`encoding-down`][encoding-down] and [`charwise`][charwise] (or similar).
+
+#### Known Browser Issues
+
+IE11 and Edge yield incorrect results for `{ gte: '' }` if the database contains any key types other than strings.
+
 ### Buffer vs ArrayBuffer
 
 For interoperability it is recommended to use `Buffer` as your binary type. While we recognize that Node.js core modules are moving towards supporting `ArrayBuffer` and views thereof, `Buffer` remains the primary binary type in the Level ecosystem.
@@ -225,6 +263,8 @@ See the [contribution guide](https://github.com/Level/community/blob/master/CONT
 
 [abstract-leveldown]: https://github.com/Level/abstract-leveldown
 
+[charwise]: https://github.com/dominictarr/charwise
+
 [levelup]: https://github.com/Level/levelup
 
 [leveldown]: https://github.com/Level/leveldown
diff --git a/iterator.js b/iterator.js
index 74eb017..0f64738 100644
--- a/iterator.js
+++ b/iterator.js
@@ -51,12 +51,6 @@ Iterator.prototype.createKeyRange = function (options) {
   var lowerOpen = ltgt.lowerBoundExclusive(options)
   var upperOpen = ltgt.upperBoundExclusive(options)
 
-  // Temporary workaround for Level/abstract-leveldown#318
-  if ((Buffer.isBuffer(lower) || typeof lower === 'string') && lower.length === 0) lower = undefined
-  if ((Buffer.isBuffer(upper) || typeof upper === 'string') && upper.length === 0) upper = undefined
-  if ((Buffer.isBuffer(lowerOpen) || typeof lowerOpen === 'string') && lowerOpen.length === 0) lowerOpen = undefined
-  if ((Buffer.isBuffer(upperOpen) || typeof upperOpen === 'string') && upperOpen.length === 0) upperOpen = undefined
-
   if (lower !== undefined && upper !== undefined) {
     return IDBKeyRange.bound(lower, upper, lowerOpen, upperOpen)
   } else if (lower !== undefined) {
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 561d890..ef72584 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
     ]
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "abstract-leveldown": "~6.0.0",
+    "abstract-leveldown": "~6.0.1",
     "immediate": "~3.2.3",
     "inherits": "^2.0.3",
     "ltgt": "^2.1.2",
diff --git a/test/index.js b/test/index.js
index cb0a6d6..a7ea5dd 100644
--- a/test/index.js
+++ b/test/index.js
@@ -34,3 +34,4 @@ require('./custom-test')(leveljs, test, testCommon)
 require('./structured-clone-test')(leveljs, test, testCommon)
 require('./key-type-test')(leveljs, test, testCommon)
 require('./key-type-illegal-test')(leveljs, test, testCommon)
+require('./native-order-test')(leveljs, test, testCommon)
diff --git a/test/native-order-test.js b/test/native-order-test.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..96446cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/native-order-test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+'use strict'
+
+var concat = require('level-concat-iterator')
+
+module.exports = function (leveljs, test, testCommon) {
+  // Type sort order per IndexedDB Second Edition, excluding
+  // types that aren't supported by all environments.
+  var basicKeys = [
+    // Should sort naturally
+    { type: 'number', value: '-Infinity', key: -Infinity },
+    { type: 'number', value: '2', key: 2 },
+    { type: 'number', value: '10', key: 10 },
+    { type: 'number', value: '+Infinity', key: Infinity },
+
+    // Should sort naturally (by epoch offset)
+    { type: 'date', value: 'new Date(2)', key: new Date(2) },
+    { type: 'date', value: 'new Date(10)', key: new Date(10) },
+
+    // Should sort lexicographically
+    { type: 'string', value: '"10"', key: '10' },
+    { type: 'string', value: '"2"', key: '2' }
+  ]
+
+  makeTest('on basic key types', basicKeys, function (verify) {
+    // Should be ignored
+    verify({ gt: undefined })
+    verify({ gte: undefined })
+    verify({ lt: undefined })
+    verify({ lte: undefined })
+
+    verify({ gt: -Infinity }, 1)
+    verify({ gte: -Infinity })
+    verify({ gt: +Infinity }, 4)
+    verify({ gte: +Infinity }, 3)
+
+    verify({ lt: -Infinity }, 0, 0)
+    verify({ lte: -Infinity }, 0, 1)
+    verify({ lt: +Infinity }, 0, 3)
+    verify({ lte: +Infinity }, 0, 4)
+
+    verify({ gt: 10 }, 3)
+    verify({ gte: 10 }, 2)
+    verify({ lt: 10 }, 0, 2)
+    verify({ lte: 10 }, 0, 3)
+
+    verify({ gt: new Date(10) }, 6)
+    verify({ gte: new Date(10) }, 5)
+    verify({ lt: new Date(10) }, 0, 5)
+    verify({ lte: new Date(10) }, 0, 6)
+
+    // IE 11 and Edge fail this test (yield 0 results), but only when the db
+    // contains key types other than strings (see strings-only test below).
+    // verify({ gte: '' }, 6)
+
+    verify({ gt: '' }, 6)
+    verify({ lt: '' }, 0, 6)
+    verify({ lte: '' }, 0, 6)
+
+    verify({ gt: '10' }, 7)
+    verify({ gte: '10' }, 6)
+    verify({ lt: '10' }, 0, 6)
+    verify({ lte: '10' }, 0, 7)
+
+    verify({ gt: '2' }, 0, 0)
+    verify({ gte: '2' }, -1)
+    verify({ lt: '2' }, 0, -1)
+    verify({ lte: '2' })
+  })
+
+  makeTest('on string keys only', basicKeys.filter(matchType('string')), function (verify) {
+    verify({ gt: '' })
+    verify({ gte: '' })
+    verify({ lt: '' }, 0, 0)
+    verify({ lte: '' }, 0, 0)
+  })
+
+  if (leveljs.binaryKeys) {
+    var binaryKeys = [
+      // Should sort bitwise
+      { type: 'binary', value: 'Uint8Array.from([0, 2])', key: binary([0, 2]) },
+      { type: 'binary', value: 'Uint8Array.from([1, 1])', key: binary([1, 1]) }
+    ]
+
+    makeTest('on binary keys', basicKeys.concat(binaryKeys), function (verify) {
+      verify({ gt: binary([]) }, -2)
+      verify({ gte: binary([]) }, -2)
+      verify({ lt: binary([]) }, 0, -2)
+      verify({ lte: binary([]) }, 0, -2)
+    })
+  }
+
+  if (leveljs.arrayKeys) {
+    var arrayKeys = [
+      // Should sort componentwise
+      { type: 'array', value: '[100]', key: [100] },
+      { type: 'array', value: '["10"]', key: ['10'] },
+      { type: 'array', value: '["2"]', key: ['2'] }
+    ]
+
+    makeTest('on array keys', basicKeys.concat(arrayKeys), function (verify) {
+      verify({ gt: [] }, -3)
+      verify({ gte: [] }, -3)
+      verify({ lt: [] }, 0, -3)
+      verify({ lte: [] }, 0, -3)
+    })
+  }
+
+  if (leveljs.binaryKeys && leveljs.arrayKeys) {
+    makeTest('on all key types', basicKeys.concat(binaryKeys).concat(arrayKeys))
+  }
+
+  function makeTest (name, input, fn) {
+    var prefix = 'native order (' + name + '): '
+    var db
+
+    test(prefix + 'open', function (t) {
+      db = testCommon.factory()
+      db.open(t.end.bind(t))
+    })
+
+    test(prefix + 'prepare', function (t) {
+      db.batch(input.map(function (item) {
+        return { type: 'put', key: item.key, value: item.value }
+      }), t.end.bind(t))
+    })
+
+    function verify (options, begin, end) {
+      test(prefix + humanRange(options), function (t) {
+        t.plan(2)
+
+        options.valueAsBuffer = false
+        concat(db.iterator(options), function (err, result) {
+          t.ifError(err, 'no concat error')
+          t.same(result.map(getValue), input.slice(begin, end).map(getValue))
+        })
+      })
+    }
+
+    verify({})
+    if (fn) fn(verify)
+
+    test(prefix + 'close', function (t) {
+      db.close(t.end.bind(t))
+    })
+  }
+}
+
+function matchType (type) {
+  return function (item) {
+    return item.type === type
+  }
+}
+
+function getValue (kv) {
+  return kv.value
+}
+
+// Replacement for TypedArray.from()
+function binary (bytes) {
+  var arr = new Uint8Array(bytes.length)
+  for (var i = 0; i < bytes.length; i++) arr[i] = bytes[i]
+  return arr
+}
+
+function humanRange (options) {
+  var a = []
+
+  ;['gt', 'gte', 'lt', 'lte'].forEach(function (opt) {
+    if (options.hasOwnProperty(opt)) {
+      var target = options[opt]
+
+      if (typeof target === 'string' || Array.isArray(target)) {
+        target = JSON.stringify(target)
+      } else if (Object.prototype.toString.call(target) === '[object Date]') {
+        target = 'new Date(' + target.valueOf() + ')'
+      } else if (Object.prototype.toString.call(target) === '[object Uint8Array]') {
+        target = 'Uint8Array.from([' + target + '])'
+      }
+
+      a.push(opt + ': ' + target)
+    }
+  })
+
+  return a.length ? a.join(', ') : 'all'
+}