Initial impressions of Gesshin 400, 2000 and 5000

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echerub

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I'll have more well-developed thoughts about the stones after a few more sessions with them, but I finally got around to doing a quick round with these stones today. I worked a Shun Elite paring and a Watanabe nakiri - so both are double-bevel, but different steel types at least. I didn't choose them for their steel, but simply because they actually needed sharpening.

Very, very briefly about the stones: I like 'em!

With a bit more detail, they have great feel, cut fast, and for those who like mud, generate mud very quickly and easily. I'm not an expert sharpener by any means. I have been using a variety of stones the past little while, but I "grew up" on Superstones so they are still my baseline frame of reference.

There is good tactile and auditory feedback from these three stones, so you get a good sense of what's going on and it's easy to adjust accordingly.

400 - So much more enjoyable to use than my Bester 500. Much, much nicer feel, and works at least as fast.

2000 - Works fast, leaves a reasonably polished edge that ought to be enough for many purposes.

5000 - Here, the relative hardness of the stone compared to a Rika or SS seemed at odds with what my hands expect to feel on a higher-grit stone, but it still feels nice. Oddly the mud felt a little gritty at first, but that smoothed out quickly.

I haven't yet used the new edges, so I can't comment on how they are, but my first impressions of the stones from the sharpening experience are very positive.
 
how do you feel about the feedback on the splash and go 5k vs the 400 and 2k soakers??

i only really use soakers so i was hoping to learn some more about what people think about the difference in this line
 
Good question. I didn't pay much attention to differences within the series, so I'd have to go for another session on them before I can really say much with confidence. Two things I can think of right off the bat, though. The first is that the 5000 generates mud very quickly, even though it's a splash-n-go. The second is that I didn't notice any kind of jarring change when I went on to the 5000. It wasn't like going from soft smooth feeling stone to a hard, glasslike stone.

Mmm... I know Superstones are generally treated as splash-n-go, but I do tend to soak them for a few minutes first. When I don't, I find that they don't feel as nice - not as smooth, a bit of initial gumminess. Nothing of the sort with the Gesshin 5k. It felt nice right off the bat.

I think I'm gonna want to find a reason to sharpen a knife or two within the next few days - I'm curious too now! ;)
 
I'm going to have to order one of the 400x's - I can't have a good coarse stone in country and not have it. :)
 
I'm about due for another 5K stone shortly, and although the Gesshin has somewhat peaked my interest, I am too much in love with the Naniwa SS to make a change. Just can't do it.
 
I just used the Gesshin 15,000 to sharpen a couple of Nenox S1s. Going to do a write up sometime this week after I put the stone through the paces some more.
 
I have the 5k splash and go and have been enjoying it. It is not a "muddy" stone, but still cuts and polishes well, more so than the rika.
 
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