PalmRoyale
Senior Member
First up is a wonderful Shoubudani Iromono Tomae with a beautiful surface pattern. The size is 190x67-62x47mm and the stone+plus base weighs roughly 1580 grams. This stone feels very smooth and it's very fine. It would rate it as just above medium hard and it will release a decent amount of mud on soft cladding but not too much. I also found the mud to be nice and slick and this stone will easily produce a nice kasumi finish and a refined edge. In the last picture you can see some very faint scratches on the back of the chisel but you really have look at it the right way to see them. As you can see in pictures 9, 10 and 11 there are two lines that run close to the edge. They didn't scratch the steel but I could feel some resistance as the blade passed over them so I made a larger bevel on the stone. The rest of the line the furthest from the edge in the flat of the stone was no problem at all. Luckily these lines are in a favourable location and you still have more than enough stone surface left to work on. The stone was originally mounted on a cracked Pine base but I felt this stone deserves something nicer so I made a new base out of a nice piece of Teak. I varnished it with Epifanes boat varnish (one of the best boat varnishes on the market and made in the Netherlands). I then applied Sika primer to the base and the bottom of the stone and I glued the stone to the base with Sika 292i marine adhesive. In other words, it's done the shipwright way. I'm asking $375 for this stone. I think this is a fair price for this nice, extra thick Shoubudani and the nice base I made. The price doesn't include shipping and I can't give you a precise price for shipping because it depends on the country but within the EU it's at least under 25 and to the US it's $38 (insured up to $625).
Shoubudani pics
Next up is a wonderful and rare Nakayama Kiita Suita that feels velvety smooth. It has a beautiful tan colour and it turns a lovely orange when it's wet. This stone should come in around HS47-48 (maybe a bit higher). It will moderately self slurry on just water and it's a very dark slurry but it keeps going. However, I found this stone works best with a nice Koma slurry to help it get started (an Atoma generated slurry also works very well) and it's quite fast with a slurry. The finish you get with this stone is very even and very fine and it produces a razor sharp edge. It will in fact also make a terrific razor hone. It has some lines and spots but none of them are toxic. The underside of the stone is uneven (see first pic) and this made it unstable so for this stone I also made a nice Teak base. This one is more elegant to keep it in line with the stone. The finish and the way I glued the stone to the base are the same as with the Shoubudani. The stone measures 144x86x28mm and it weighs 845 grams (without the base). It's not the largest stone but you still have a good working surface and what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in speed and finesse. The price is $230. Shipping is at least under 25 within the EU and $34 to the US.
Nakayama pics
The third stone is a very clean and pure Aiiwatani. It measures 177x77x29mm. I don't know the exact weight but it's under 1400 grams, that much I do know. As I said this stone is very clean and pure. It had one black spot on it, probably a hard mineral inclusion, that scratched the soft steel so I removed it. That one spot was the only thing wrong with this stone. This one will also produce a very even kasumi finish and a razor sharp, refined edge. It will self slurry on soft cladding but to get the most out of this stone it's best used with a nagura stone. I tried several ones, Mejiro, Koma, Takashima and a Coticule slurry but the slurry from a softer Aiiwatani nagura, the one in the 6th picture, matches this stone perfectly and really ups the abrasive power so I will sell the stone and nagura together. I made several deep lines in the nagura so it doesn't stick to the stone and it also raises a slurry faster. The sides and bottom of the stone are sealed with varnish and I applied Plastidip to the bottom so it doesn't slide around. The price is $230 for the stone and nagura. Shipping is again at least under 25 within the EU and $34 to the US.
Aiiwatani pics
The fourth stone is an old stock Aizu with black renge that's been used only twice. It measures 189x62x36mm, the weight is 970 grams, it's firmly in the 2000-3000 range and it produces a good edge for kitchen use. I always wanted to try an Aizu but it's just not the right stone for me. It's not a bad stone by any means but I expected it to be softer. I found this one to be fairly hard, which I now know is typical for an Aizu, but it still self slurries although it's not the fastest stone. I also found the scratches to be shallow so it will make a good intermediary stone. The stone was originally lapped on one side but I could feel some crunchiness in the area I circled in red. I lapped the other side and it doesn't have any crunchiness. I didn't try this one with my chisel because I didn't want to ruin the polish but it performed very well on my Sabatier SS chef's knife at @ 60HRC. The last pic is after sharpening the Sabatier on the Aizu. The price is $160. Shipping is under 25 in the EU and $34 to the US.
Aizu pics
The last stone is this Shiro Suita I bought from Valgard. It's the first one on this page: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/34836-Shiro-suita-and-two-koppas I really liked this stone the time I was using it but I have another stone now that I like even more. I glued it to a piece of aluminium to reinforce it and I lapped it a few times so the surface looks different now. Because I lapped it a few times the thickness is down now to 18mm. The third picture is with a slurry from a soft piece of Takashima (highly abrasive combination!) and the fourth is with a Koma slurry. The price is $140. Shipping is under 25 in the EU and $34 to the US.
Suita pics
Shoubudani pics
Next up is a wonderful and rare Nakayama Kiita Suita that feels velvety smooth. It has a beautiful tan colour and it turns a lovely orange when it's wet. This stone should come in around HS47-48 (maybe a bit higher). It will moderately self slurry on just water and it's a very dark slurry but it keeps going. However, I found this stone works best with a nice Koma slurry to help it get started (an Atoma generated slurry also works very well) and it's quite fast with a slurry. The finish you get with this stone is very even and very fine and it produces a razor sharp edge. It will in fact also make a terrific razor hone. It has some lines and spots but none of them are toxic. The underside of the stone is uneven (see first pic) and this made it unstable so for this stone I also made a nice Teak base. This one is more elegant to keep it in line with the stone. The finish and the way I glued the stone to the base are the same as with the Shoubudani. The stone measures 144x86x28mm and it weighs 845 grams (without the base). It's not the largest stone but you still have a good working surface and what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in speed and finesse. The price is $230. Shipping is at least under 25 within the EU and $34 to the US.
Nakayama pics
The third stone is a very clean and pure Aiiwatani. It measures 177x77x29mm. I don't know the exact weight but it's under 1400 grams, that much I do know. As I said this stone is very clean and pure. It had one black spot on it, probably a hard mineral inclusion, that scratched the soft steel so I removed it. That one spot was the only thing wrong with this stone. This one will also produce a very even kasumi finish and a razor sharp, refined edge. It will self slurry on soft cladding but to get the most out of this stone it's best used with a nagura stone. I tried several ones, Mejiro, Koma, Takashima and a Coticule slurry but the slurry from a softer Aiiwatani nagura, the one in the 6th picture, matches this stone perfectly and really ups the abrasive power so I will sell the stone and nagura together. I made several deep lines in the nagura so it doesn't stick to the stone and it also raises a slurry faster. The sides and bottom of the stone are sealed with varnish and I applied Plastidip to the bottom so it doesn't slide around. The price is $230 for the stone and nagura. Shipping is again at least under 25 within the EU and $34 to the US.
Aiiwatani pics
The fourth stone is an old stock Aizu with black renge that's been used only twice. It measures 189x62x36mm, the weight is 970 grams, it's firmly in the 2000-3000 range and it produces a good edge for kitchen use. I always wanted to try an Aizu but it's just not the right stone for me. It's not a bad stone by any means but I expected it to be softer. I found this one to be fairly hard, which I now know is typical for an Aizu, but it still self slurries although it's not the fastest stone. I also found the scratches to be shallow so it will make a good intermediary stone. The stone was originally lapped on one side but I could feel some crunchiness in the area I circled in red. I lapped the other side and it doesn't have any crunchiness. I didn't try this one with my chisel because I didn't want to ruin the polish but it performed very well on my Sabatier SS chef's knife at @ 60HRC. The last pic is after sharpening the Sabatier on the Aizu. The price is $160. Shipping is under 25 in the EU and $34 to the US.
Aizu pics
The last stone is this Shiro Suita I bought from Valgard. It's the first one on this page: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/34836-Shiro-suita-and-two-koppas I really liked this stone the time I was using it but I have another stone now that I like even more. I glued it to a piece of aluminium to reinforce it and I lapped it a few times so the surface looks different now. Because I lapped it a few times the thickness is down now to 18mm. The third picture is with a slurry from a soft piece of Takashima (highly abrasive combination!) and the fourth is with a Koma slurry. The price is $140. Shipping is under 25 in the EU and $34 to the US.
Suita pics
