Indonesian Natural

[Koop]

Let me preface this post with a little background. I'm a home cook - actually my wife is the chef, I just mostly do the prep work. I've been using Japanese knives for about three years and have worked at my sharpening skills over that period of time. I use synthetic stones and usually finish with a Suehiro Ouka 3000. I love the versatility of that stone - I can achieve a resonably toothy edge for my nakiri, bunka and gyuto or refine a sujihiki edge with it.

I have no previous experience with natural stones although I've read about them and watched YouTube videos featuring Japanese naturals. Last week I jumped on the Bernal Cutlery FYF one-day sale and ordered a large Indonesian Batu fine natural stone. Josh equates it to a 3000 - 4000 grit, although that's a subjective judgement. It arrived today and it's a brick! It measures 198mmx82mm and it's 45mm tall.

It arrived in good condition and it was reasonably flat - I used a diamond plate and hardly removed anything to flatten it. First up was a Sanjo Aogami #2 honesuki. I worked the micro-bevel and intially thought the stone was very hard. It turns out the stone cuts fairly quickly and I had a fine burr in no time. It didn't develop much slurry and returned a very sharp edge.

Next I refined the edge on another Sanjo Aogami #2 sujihiki. Again it worked fairly quickly and I had a screaming sharp edge in about 15 minutes. I'm impressed with this stone and it was only $34 with the sale price and shipping! I hope this isn't a gateway to the natural stone rabbit hole!

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I haven't heard of this before, but it makes sense that there must be a natural whetstone from the region. Where can I learn more about this?

 

[Koop]

I haven't heard of this before, but it makes sense that there must be a natural whetstone from the region. Where can I learn more about this?

There are a few YouTube vids. Here's a link to one.

 

[Mr Kooby Shemayrew]

Thanks for the review. This seems in the right grit range for a knife finisher. I wonder how it compares with a staple like the Aoto. It looks like a nice chunky well-cut piece too. Nice pick up.

 

[Koop]

Here's a better photo.

 

[KasumiJLA]

Where can I learn more about this?

Direct link to buy one right here

 

[nhatduongchi]

How was the edge comparing to your Suehiro Ouka 3000?

 

[Koop]

It's hard for me to compare the two stones. I would say the Ouka is more forgiving and consistent, I can acheive a fine edge with it fairly easily. The Indonesian responds differently, depending on technique. If I raise a slurry with a diamond plate and use pressure, it acts like a coarser stone. If I finish with a clean, wet stone and use gentle, sweeping edge leading strokes, it leaves a razor sharp edge that I consider "refined."

 

[Koop]

I decided to try all three Indonesian stones Bernal had. The batu bureum is a red medium stone, the batu hideum is a dark medium/fine stone and the first one I bought was the batu bodas white fine stone.

The red is relatively coarse and cuts quickly, but with light pressure there aren't any excessively deep scratches. The dark medium/fine stone is harder. With the dark coloration it's hard to detect swarf and slurry, but some was present when I wiped the stone with a paper towel. The white fine stone is harder still and I like to use it with a light, edge leading stropping stroke.

The stones are all sensitive to pressure and the results change if not handled carefully. I'm finding lighter pressure than I use with synthetic seems to work for me on shirogami #1 and aogami #2. I'm liking these stones. Bernal sold out of the dark medium/fine stone.

I'll work with these for a while, but I'm feeling the tug of a natural stone obsession coming on.

Red medium stone

Dark medium/fine

All three.

 

[nhatduongchi]

Very nice, enjoy