I got a red aoto from Maxim yesterday and wanted to give a review on it. I know it had been previously mentioned in the thread below so i won't go too much into it but i will give my personal opinions.
The stone is large much larger than any other stone i have used and i liked it quite a bit. It is a light reddish color and pretty smooth overall.
The only steel i have right now is vg10 so i started with my shun. This stone doesn't cut extremely fast but it still cuts pretty good. If only using the knife it takes a little work to build of mud but once you get it going it becomes really muddy. With a nagura it works up mud instantly.
After using this stone i would say this could definitely be a finishing stone for kitchens, the edge it left was very toothy but extremely sharp. It left a toothier than my 1k stone in feel but the polish is much higher id say 4kish.
I wouldn't say its a polishing stone by any means but as far as performance it could be your final stone. I used my takashima afterwards and i got the best edge i have had on that knife since i have had it.
I would say all you need is a course stone like a bester 500, this aoto, and a finishing stone( if wanted) and you wouldn't need anything else.
I really enjoy using it and I'm extremely happy with the results i got from it.
The stone is large much larger than any other stone i have used and i liked it quite a bit. It is a light reddish color and pretty smooth overall.
The only steel i have right now is vg10 so i started with my shun. This stone doesn't cut extremely fast but it still cuts pretty good. If only using the knife it takes a little work to build of mud but once you get it going it becomes really muddy. With a nagura it works up mud instantly.
After using this stone i would say this could definitely be a finishing stone for kitchens, the edge it left was very toothy but extremely sharp. It left a toothier than my 1k stone in feel but the polish is much higher id say 4kish.
I wouldn't say its a polishing stone by any means but as far as performance it could be your final stone. I used my takashima afterwards and i got the best edge i have had on that knife since i have had it.
I would say all you need is a course stone like a bester 500, this aoto, and a finishing stone( if wanted) and you wouldn't need anything else.
I really enjoy using it and I'm extremely happy with the results i got from it.