Two good naturals for sale, both of which I bought from JNS.
1) Ikarashi/Igarashi - Very cool stone, great feel, fast and great results. These were mined near Sanjo, Japan, until the early 1960s when the mine was closed, and then the stock must have sat around for years. Use this instead of a 1-2k synthetic, and Maxim says it's the only stone he'd recommend in this range for razors as well, I think because they're considered hard enough and also uniform and consistent enough to trust. They are, however, not too hard and so are excellent and feel great with knives. One of my favs: it glows blue if you soak it a bit first, though does not require soaking at all. I wouldn't be selling except that I was finally able to find a huge one of the same stock as a replacement in Japan. I think this is also an example of how, quality-wise, you can get a much better deal with good coarser naturals in comparison to the expensive finishers that everyone opts for; you can even finish a knife on this stone if you want, too. There are some cheaper white Ikarashi you see in Japan, but this stock appears bluer and comes from JNS or Japan (if you can find it) unlapped; I've lapped both sides already with Atomas (there's a small JNS charge for this) and you can also use either side. Price is $170 with shipping & PP fees included (int'l okay). Original listing: http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/ikarashi/
2) 'Green Aoto' or green Atagoyama akapin - These are sold out at JNS and there's no more stock available. Also, while it seems a few red aoto have appeared on BST, I haven't noticed any other greens for sale except when another member was able to upgrade to a larger one and sell off his smaller stone, so people seem to hang on to their greens more than the reds. Maxim recommended this particular stone when I asked him to find a larger one for me. It turned out to be a bit thicker than most at 208 x 75 x 40mm, it has very uniform shape with nice skin on the bottom, and is among the greener 'green aoto' in colour. A nice-looking stone, and the sides are lacquered too. I'm selling just because I have a couple other stones that I can use in its place and I hope to free up some $ to get others and try new things. Only a small reduction off the new price with this one as it's as good as new and no one else is selling theirs. Price is $230 with shipping & PP fees included (int'l okay). Original listing for this particular stone: http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/1-green-aoto/ (First photo shows two black things on the stone. This is only lint from when Maxim was taking the pictures.)
1) Ikarashi/Igarashi - Very cool stone, great feel, fast and great results. These were mined near Sanjo, Japan, until the early 1960s when the mine was closed, and then the stock must have sat around for years. Use this instead of a 1-2k synthetic, and Maxim says it's the only stone he'd recommend in this range for razors as well, I think because they're considered hard enough and also uniform and consistent enough to trust. They are, however, not too hard and so are excellent and feel great with knives. One of my favs: it glows blue if you soak it a bit first, though does not require soaking at all. I wouldn't be selling except that I was finally able to find a huge one of the same stock as a replacement in Japan. I think this is also an example of how, quality-wise, you can get a much better deal with good coarser naturals in comparison to the expensive finishers that everyone opts for; you can even finish a knife on this stone if you want, too. There are some cheaper white Ikarashi you see in Japan, but this stock appears bluer and comes from JNS or Japan (if you can find it) unlapped; I've lapped both sides already with Atomas (there's a small JNS charge for this) and you can also use either side. Price is $170 with shipping & PP fees included (int'l okay). Original listing: http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/ikarashi/
2) 'Green Aoto' or green Atagoyama akapin - These are sold out at JNS and there's no more stock available. Also, while it seems a few red aoto have appeared on BST, I haven't noticed any other greens for sale except when another member was able to upgrade to a larger one and sell off his smaller stone, so people seem to hang on to their greens more than the reds. Maxim recommended this particular stone when I asked him to find a larger one for me. It turned out to be a bit thicker than most at 208 x 75 x 40mm, it has very uniform shape with nice skin on the bottom, and is among the greener 'green aoto' in colour. A nice-looking stone, and the sides are lacquered too. I'm selling just because I have a couple other stones that I can use in its place and I hope to free up some $ to get others and try new things. Only a small reduction off the new price with this one as it's as good as new and no one else is selling theirs. Price is $230 with shipping & PP fees included (int'l okay). Original listing for this particular stone: http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/1-green-aoto/ (First photo shows two black things on the stone. This is only lint from when Maxim was taking the pictures.)