Naniwa Chosera 3000 Grit Japanese Whetstone Sharpening Stone, NO Stand, 21cmx7cm surface (8.25"x2.75"), 2.5cm thick, with Nagura600-grit mud/slurry/cleaning stone
This fine stone is a good choice for finishing off German knives, or for regular maintenance of any other German or Japanese knife where you don't necessarily want a super polished edge. This is the smoothest many people will ever need to use, especially for German knives or any knife made with standard or soft steel.
Naniwa Chosera stones are widely considered the finest stones money can buy. They are artifical stones made with the magnesia bonding method. In terms of hardness they are slightly harder than the Super Stones, and because of the different bonding methods these "feel" harder and cut more quickly. They are very durable and will last MANY years (they're also 0.5cm thicker than Super Stones), but this extra hardness means that there is also more of a potential for cracking or chipping than with the Super Stones so be sure to air dry them and store in a cool, dry place and do NOT expose them to extremes of heat or cold (NO freezing!) or quick changes in temperature or humidity.
Note that these stones do NOT have bases (stands). I had many requests from my professional Japanese chef customers across North America who buy stones for me to start importing these without bases. The argument is that when put down on a dampened cloth (to prevent slipping) it will actually be MORE stable than any stand (the stands have feet, so there is less contact with the surface it rests on). They convinced me that the benefits really did outweigh any potential use that the stand may bring, and so from now on I'll only be importing stones without bases. If you need a base, I now carry a very high quality and heavy-duty "clamp" style stand (see below), and this is also handy to use in conjunction with the sink bridge also sold separately.
Click here for a multi-lingual brochure (scroll down for English) by Naniwa explaining the use of a Japanese whetstone. |
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