Naniwa Super Stone Ultra-Fine 12,000 Grit Japanese Whetstone Sharpening Stone, NO Stand, 21cmx7cm surface (8.25"x2.75"), 2cm thick
Note that these stones do NOT have bases. 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. But please note that the base did provide some protection, so remember treat your stones gently and to avoid dropping or knocking them!
This ultra-fine stone is used for giving a knife a final polished edge. It is one of the finest stones available anywhere. There are manufacturers which claim higher grits, but few can yield a mirror polish edge like these Naniwa Super Stones can. Recommended for final finish of fine Japanese stainless or carbon steel knives. Not necessarily recommended for most German knives (though you could try with a fine slicer I suppose, I wouldn't really recommend this kind of edge for a German santoku or chef's knife since they generally hold up better with a slightly rougher edge).
I searched for YEARS to find stones like this. Most I found were either poor quality (bad finish, not flat & smooth) or WAY too expensive (come on, it's a sharpening STONE, not precious metal!). These are high-end stones (near the very top of the many lines Naniwa makes), individually boxed (nice boxes -- they make nice gifts!), and bonded to high quality plastic bases with non-slip rubber feet. I also spent a little extra money on these to get them a full 2cm (nearly an inch) thick, since many of the cheaper stones you'll find people importing are just 1cm thick and so can wear down after a few years of use, or worse, can crack more easily since there's just not enough strength in the thin material. The ceramic compounds used to manufacture these is also of very high quality, and so they strike a great balance between ability to cut a nice edge without too much work and still being very long-lasting and strong. These are truly excellent sharpening stones, suitable for any serious hobbyist, pro, chef, wood-worker or outdoorsman. Note the nice large size too -- most other cheaper stones you'll see around shops or mail order in North America are smaller and so are more difficult to work with (and will wear out more quickly), especially with kitchen knives where it's nice to have the extra surface area when sharpening a santoku or chef's knife. Made in Japan.
These stones are made by the Resin Bond method, which yields a higher quality stone than the old baked method used with cheaper stones, and it offers 90% of the performance of the MUCH more expensive and fragile Magnesia method stones. Also, a great benefit of this method is that the stones do NOT require soaking in water prior to use (in fact they should NOT be soaked). A quick spray or splash of water is all that is needed and you're ready to go.
Click here for a multi-lingual brochure (scroll down for English) by Naniwa explaining the use of a Japanese whetstone. |
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