Need help identifying these Jnats

Hi!

I just got back from Japan, and was able to visit Tanaka Toishi in Kyoto.

I bought two stones, one for kitchen knives and one for straight razors. This is my first time to buy Jnats and I just went with Mr. Tanaka's suggestions.





The one for kitchen knives he refereed to as an 'aoto', the right one I forgot to ask.

Can you guys help me identify the two stones?

Thanks.

dj

Yes, the bigger one is a Tamba Aoto; I just had one on BST. The smaller one, a koppa, is a honyama gotogi - layered finishing stone. There's one kanji I can't make out, but will look again. The flower symbol stamp is from the Kyoto Natural Stone Association, which I think Tanaka is the head of - meaning he can use the stamp. Looks like a good pair of stones.

... (Later) The first character on the koppa's just 正 which was hard to figure out, but obvious. Anyway, the koppa is just labelled as a honyama, a genuine honyama finishing stone. Enjoy

Are you just trying to read the kanji?

osakajoe said:

Are you just trying to read the kanji?

Click to expand...

He may be, but I am trying to work out what the stones actually used for what grit ranges etc. also is it a got idea to let mud dry on stone for next time I use it?

osakajoe said:

Are you just trying to read the kanji?

Click to expand...

He asked for these to be identified. Plus, while he knows the first is an aoto, there are several kinds of aoto, and the label confirms Tamba. The koppa could be many kinds of stone, so all you can do is read the kanji. In this case, 'honyama' and a Kyoto stamp doesn't really tell us anything because a stone like this is always going to be from Kyoto anyway. Awasedo are from Kyoto and nowhere else, and by appearance it's not a med or coarse natural, it's an awasedo. In other words, it's called 'honyama' because the mine is unknown, but honyama is what buyers like to hear, and we also don't know the layer, though you can generally guess tomae as the default because they produce the most awasedo.

rami_m said:

He may be, but I am trying to work out what the stones actually used for what grit ranges etc. also is it a got idea to let mud dry on stone for next time I use it?

Click to expand...

The aoto is medium stone, and the koppa is an awasedo, a finishing stone.

Well said.

Was just wondering because I can translate the kanji if needed.

I get stones stones from tanaka. I live in osaka so can easily just phone or drop by. Your natural stones are pretty much hard to pin down the exact grit. One of my knife teachers says when he goes to buy a natural stone he licks them to tell the difference.

osakajoe said:

Was just wondering because I can translate the kanji if needed. I get stones stones from tanaka. I live in osaka so can easily just phone or drop by. Your natural stones are pretty much hard to pin down the exact grit. One of my knife teachers says when he goes to buy a natural stone he licks them to tell the difference.

Click to expand...

Yeesh. Even more reason to take off that top layer after you buy one.

Lucky guy. You live in the toishi heartland, and of course you can first try your stones at a place like Tanaka's.