What are some of the best whetstones?

Does anyone know of a highly effective brand of whetstone? I am looking for a range of grits and am comfortable spending around $100 per stone. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am sure other, more experienced, sharpeners will chime in with their own opinions. But for me, it really depends on your particular needs, what you are sharpening, what you are looking for, and what you like to work with. My two favorite "brands", as a group of stones, are Naniwa Chosera and Shapton Pro. Shapton pro tends to be very hard, for me, has little feedback, and can be used splash and go. The chosera stones, on the other hand, tend to have a buttery feel, provide great feedback, but do need a little soaking before use.
I am neglecting to mention any of the single stones I like best, a few of the Gesshin stones (found at JKI), The JNS 1k (my favorite 1k stone), and lets not forget the great low grit beston stones.

Overall, depending on your needs, any or all of the above would work out well for you.

Regards,
Chris

bester 700/1200 are both good stones...not terribly expensive

DM is now selling stones and it may be worth hearing what he has to say as well...

In my limited experience, what you may want to buy depends somewhat on what kinds of knives you have, specifically, carbon steel vs. stainless steel.

I currently have the following set up: Gesshin 400, King 1000, King 1200 (haven't used it yet), Gesshin 2000, King 6000. I've also tried the Beston 500, Bester 1200, Sigma 1.2k and Suehiro Rika. I use an Atoma 140 for flattening.

For my cheapo yanagi, the Gesshin 400, followed by the King 1000 and King 6000 work best. I sometimes use the Gesshin 2000 for it as well, but go back to the King 1000 because the King leaves a better finish than the Gesshin 2000.

For my stainless knives, I just use the Gesshin 400 and Gesshin 2000. The 400 and 2000 cut fast, give good feedback and leave nice, toothy edges. They dish a little, but you'll use less strokes because they cut quickly. The 2000 is my overall favorite single stone - the only thing it doesn't excel at is the finish it puts on carbon steel knives.

But, please keep in mind that I do not go for maximum sharpness. I prefer toothy, long lasting edges. And, I'm not a great sharpener. But, I've been very happy with the Gesshin 400/2000 combo.

Here is a thread

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...-s-your-favorite-stones?highlight=Waterstones

Gessin. Jon @ japaneseknifeimports.com picks them himself.

What are you sharpening?

I like that I have a variety at my disposal, so I can choose the right stone for the right job in a variety of situations, but it changes depending on what you are doing and what you are working with.

If I were just sharpening for myself alone as a home cook, I'd only have a Suehiro Rika 5k, a JNS 1k, an Idahone rod, and a home made loaded strop.

If I was sharpening double bevel knives only, I'd go with Gesshin 400, 2k and 4k. They are fast, work on pretty much any steel, they feel great and produce nice, toothy edges. They even produce pretty nice finishes. Jon does a lot more than just pick stones. If you ever go to the shop to play with stones, you'll see what I mean. If I included single bevels, I'd probably throw in a Rika and some natural finisher like the Awasedo.