Naniwa Chosera Stones

These are widely considered to be the finest artificial whetstones available today. They are made by the magnesia bonding method and so are very hard, very fine and smooth and do NOT require long soaking -- just wet with a cup of water or soak for 5-10 minutes and you're good to go. Very easy sharpening, very fast cutting, and long-lasting. They have a high ratio of abrasive material so they do indeed cut faster than many other stones. These stones are great for the pro or serious home use, as they do not have bases and are a full 2.5cm thick (0.5cm thicker than the Super Stones), so they'll last for many, many years. As with the Super Stones, these are NOT attached to a base, as requested by most sharpening and cooking professionals... this way they are easier to store and carry, and you have more choice in your sharpening setup and you do need a base, you can purchase the steel/rubber base sold separately here which provides MUCH better support and stability.

Each stone comes with a small nagura 600-grit mud/slurry-creating stone (soak this small stone for 10-20 minutes before use). For the finer grit stones, creating a small amount of mud/slurry on the stone will help speed sharpening by keeping the metal from just slipping on the sharpening stone surface.

One thing to keep in mind: the Chosera stones are more fragile than cheap stones, so to keep them from cracking it's important to dry them slowly and naturally (do NOT use an oven or dryer or anything like that). And when soaking, use ROOM temperature water to avoid rapid and extreme temperature changes. Then when you're done just dry them with a towel, and set them aside to dry at room temperature.