Hello Wako San, I like your 4 choices of stones. They would not only seem to serve the needs of an expert sharpener, but also those of someone just starting out. I believe most of us fall into this bracket. I think it's wise to spend some more money on better quality stones, the best you can afford. This is something you will not regret. Thank you for posting, Wako San.
Wako, After watching this video I thought, I'll just buy myself a set of stones like this. Then after seeing the price I quickly changed my mind. Maybe if I win the lottery I can get a set. Thanks for the video.
I highly recommend you Shapton Ha-no-kuromaku or Pro 1000, 2000, 5000 set. They are all fast and hard stones and affordable for the quality. When you need to do agressive reprofiling, you can add 220 or 320 then. They are ceramics and should not be soaked in water not to take cracks. Thanks.
Jeff Gibson Shapton Ha-no-kuromaku stones are very good in general. And especially its 1000 and 5000 are the nicest. But their gap is too large in my opinion to make a shiny bevel. You will need 2000 between them. Shapton 1000, 2000, 5000 are my current most favorite and most often used line over Chosera. Thanks.
Shapton #1000 is a great and very fast stone but they should call it #700 as in my experience it is arato not nakato. They have an odd way of grading their grits.
I agree there should be a better to market it so any 1K would have same relative grit.. Currently stone grit is defined by particles per area. Shapton 1k has same number of particles per area as Naniwa 1K. They are different because the particle size Shapton uses is larger than Naniwa. With larger abrasives the relative grit is more coarse and stone cuts faster.
Hello Mr. Wako thanks for the video its very informative! I currently own 220 grit stone, chosera 1k, and spyderco ultrafine stone. If you do not like the cracked stones i will rid save you the time and have them:) haha
Hello I love your videos thanks for doing all of them! I wanted to ask you two things. ONe is im getting into expensive knives and i need a good sharpening system to make sure i take care of them. What would you recommend? Second since i have noticed that you seem to be a man who is an adventurer what sharpening tool do you carry with out into the field with you?
mark this done. chosera users! "... the thing about Chosera stones; to obtain the most excellent sharpening qualities for a water stone, Naniwa uses minimal amounts of aluminium oxide to bind the abrasive. This makes the stones more sensitive to hairline cracks. Usually this can be prevented by using the stones as dry as possible and dry them thoroughly after use. This is not always sufficient and then cracks such as these can appear. Most of the time, this is not a problem because it doesn't affect the functionality of the stone…"
Just curious, have you ever tried diamond stones? like DMT diasharp continuous diamond stones? I started with water stones (cheap ones like Norton, was in college at the time so all I could afford). I've recently upgraded to DMT stones because I didn't like how messy the waterstones were however I find they don't sharpen as well. I was thinking of investing in better waterstones like Shapton or Naniwa but not sure. Also, I love your bark river knives...I'm still saving up for my first one but the craftsmanship looks amazing. Thank you for doing what you're doing I love all your videos/tutorials.
Hello Wako, maybe the cracks could be from left over water becoming cold, i store my stones near a heat source, and have yet to find cracks in my chosera or even natural stones. They can be fickle when it comes to cold.
I once bought a new set of The Shapton stones with 3 Japanese natural stones for 50 bucks last year. I love the water they sharpen steel on my straight razors. I have a 2k and a 5k and a 12k. The manmade stones all came with crack much worst then yours but they make blades shave hair so I think they are awesome. Well my addiction to buying stones might make some people laugh it all started with wanting to save money buy shaving with a straight razor. Only regret is I shouldn't have resold that clear Arkansas razor hone for 100 bucks. Those old stones never need any stropping of the blade to shave ones face. but a well I do have more clear of that stuff.
Though I have also learned that some straight razors people buy used need a a lot of steel ground off the spin due to people putting duck type on the spine while they hone the edge.
I go from chosera 3k to naniwa snow white 8k without a 5k stone. It works well but without the 5k you need to polish on the 8k for a much longer period. naniwa snow white is quite fast and hard.
maybe it is becuase after use you leave the stones in a sry place, then the constant wet and dry can make them crack, what I have done is always store the stones in water, therefore always wet do not know if it is the reason but for me it has worked and I have had my stones over 3 years now
That would not work, at least for the Chosera line, Naniwa instructions say they should not be soaked in water (for more than an hour), what that actually means is Choseras are 'splash & go'. I have no idea whether or not perpetual soaking works with the Shaptons.
I am relatively new to waterstone sharpening and I have the Chosera #400, #800, #3000 and the new Naniwa Superstones #1000, #2000 and #5000. Do you think this is a good setup?
No, I haven't. I know they are very hard but don't know if they are ceramics. I understand that to make a flat honing surface they use a flat piece of glass for their base. Thanks.
Virtuovice, what are the cost of the stones in Japan? Are they any less expensive than in the USA (400=$68 / 800=$75 / 2,000=$110 / 3,000=$120) Thank you for your videos.
400=3,510yen / 800=4,040yen / 2.000=4,950yen / 3.000=6,690yen at the cheapest on the web. Its domestic shipping is 800yen regardless how many pieces we get at once. Thanks.
***** Thank you for the response, I did some currency conversion and it seems to to be almost 1/2 the price compare to the US. Could you tell me the website for this prices... A friend of mine is going to Japan next week, maybe I could order some.
JPSikaHunter, my friend is going next week to kyoto and tokyo, I see that the store you mention is in Kyoto, but just in case do you know a store He could buy the stones in Tokyo, Thank you for your help
JTV73 hamono.ocnk.net/product-list/95 This shop is in Chiba prefecture, 1 hour by train from Tokyo. They sell Chosera without a base. I cannot find any other shops in Tokyo on the web. Thanks.
all my chaseras all cracked on me. cho400 seems ok, but all the rest cracked, plus the pure white 8000. it is the bonding agent, magnesia bonding is prone to crack. never soak your chosera!! i don't care abut it as long as it is not affect my sharpening. but it is annoying..if i buy again, i might still go for chosera. its cutting speed, less scratchy, hardness and feedback, well balanced.
