Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin'

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BertMor

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O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin' down the street,
Oh please let it be for me!
O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin' down the street,
I wish, I wish I knew what it could be!

Or so sang Ron Howard (Opie [Winthrop]) in the Music Man

Yesterday the Wells Fargo Wagon dropped off some goodies for me

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Most of these you have seen before such as the Suehiro Stone holder and Stone Bridge

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The real goodies are the Gesshin stones from Jon at Japanese Knife Imports. From left to right they are the 400, 2000, and 6000

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These are some of the fastest, and responsive stones I've ever used. They are splash and go, but initially the 400 feels a bit thirsty and tended to dry up fast. Maybe it just needs to be broken in or some protective coating needs to be flattened off. BTW they came flat and chamfered, a nice plus. I even like the colors, they help you see how much swarf has built up and if there is any glazing.

The 400 took only a few swipes before I had a honking big burr on the edge of my Takeda nakiri. Same with the 2000. The 2000 leaves a nice bright finish, but if you progressively use lighter pressure, you can achieve a really great misty finish. High contrast between the hagane and the jigane

The 6000 is no less impressive. Easily raises a burr that, nice bright finish that easily can be changed into a misty glow.

All these stones have marvelous feedback. You can tell how much metal is being ground off and there is no slipping or sliding. You can't ask much more from a stone. Jon you and your suppliers really came up with some outstanding products.

And for you pro chef's out there:

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If you don't have these tweezers for pulling pin bones out of fish you are shoemakers! :linkfish: Gone are the days of hemostats, needle-nose pliers, or beauty supply tweezers. These things are the t*ts. Cheep-cheep get a pair
 
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I haven't seen the 6k stone on Jon's site. Is that one of his low stock items that you had to quiz him about? I'd like to hear a detailed evaluation of the 2k because I've been considering it. Although for the amount of work the 4k stone does, it might be redundant for me.
 
PT, you are right, I stand corrected they are soakers!!! No wonder the 400 seemed thirsty!

99L yes the 6000 is a newer stone or one he doesn't list. I went with it I already had a Kitayama, and as an alternative I could stop at the 6000 and have a slightly toothier edge. I am discovering all these highy refined and polished edges are good for slicing fish for sushi, but not so great for other things

riverie - I don't know who makes the tweezers, but they are 18 stainless. The knife on the other hand is my Masamoto yanigiba, used as a prop. I haven't used it yet, but I have high hopes for the brass scaler
 
I have the same scaler. It works great for the fish with a bigger scales like red snapper for example.
 
400 and 2000 are soakers... 6k is splash and go (but needs a few minutes to soak for best performance)
 
PT, my choice wasa between those two. I had a hard time distinguishing them. Ultimately, I went with the 6000 because I could feel a slightly finer grain to it (and I liked the color LOL). I think they are pretty close, but Jon knows these stones more intimately than anyone
 
PT, my choice wasa between those two. I had a hard time distinguishing them. Ultimately, I went with the 6000 because I could feel a slightly finer grain to it (and I liked the color LOL). I think they are pretty close, but Jon knows these stones more intimately than anyone

Thanks, Bert. The 6000 is a pretty unique looking stone.
 
Thanks for posting Bert. I've been talking w/ John about his Gesshin stones, and I'm considering the 2k & 4k soakers. Mainly because they're very different than the GS stones I currently have. I'm also on the fence about the splash-n-go 1k and 5k or 6k if for nothing more than convenience.

I'd like to have a 2 stone set-up for basic sharpening and maintenance. The 4k soaker or 5k-6k splash-n-go would probably give me what I want in a finishing stone for kitchen work.

Care to post any pics of the your knives after sharpening on these stones? Any more feedback as you use these stones more is appreciated! Cheers! mpp
 
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