Naniwa "Super Stone" Fine 3000 Grit Japanese Whetstone Sharpening Stone, NO Stand, 21cmx7cm surface (8.25"x2.75")
This fine stone is just the ticket for finishing off your edge, or for regular maintenance. It's a good option for people who don't need the more polished edge of the 5000 grit (and this one will work more quickly, and it's cheaper). This is the smoothest most people will ever need to use for most average knives, especially German (Henckels, Wusthof, Victorinox, Sanelli, etc.) knives or any knife with standard steel. This can also yield an edge that has a nice bite and which can be maintained nicely with a standard sharpening/honing steel.
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 can actually be more stable than any stand (the stands have feet, so there is less contact with the surface it rests on). But please note that the base did provide some protection, so remember treat your stones gently and to avoid dropping or knocking them! Some people like the stands, some don't... it appears to be personal preference.
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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