Best two stones for a gift

[MrHiggins]

I'm going to get my brother two stones for Christmas. He has a Munetoshi 240 gyuto that I gave him for his birthday. He is a good cook, having spent years in professional kitchens in his more youthful days, and knows how to care for his knives (even if he's a bit rough with them).

I'm leaning towards splash and go, but something that takes a 15 minute soak before using wouldn't be out of the question.

My budget for both is $150. Needs to get to me before Christmas.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

- Shapton Kuromaku 1k (Built-in holder): ~$60
- Atoma 140 diamond plate: ~$60

 

[BarryMM]

Naniwa 800 &3K

 

[daveb]

SP1000, SP2000 and he's done.

Will need flattening in about 100 years.

 

[tostadas]

SP1k + 2k. No need to flatten the stones for normal maintenance on a single knife. At least not for a long time. And if needed, you can probably do it for him.

 

[MrHiggins]

- Shapton Kuromaku 1k (Built-in holder): ~$60
- Atoma 140 diamond plate: ~$60

Cool, he has diamond plates already. I'll look into the Kiromaku.

 

[MowgFace]

Shapton Pro 320/2000.

Wont make pretty, will make sharp.

 

[gentiscid]

I second the Naniwa 800 and 3k Chosera

 

[gc0220]

Seems to be a consensus on the SP.

SP 2K is about the best general one and option anyone could think of. One of the gems of the SP lineup for sure.

Not sure why you'd need or want a 1k and 2k, both sharpening stones, in a two stone setup. I think a grinder and a sharpener or a sharpener and finisher would make much more sense in a two stone setup. The 1k is a courser stone for a JIS 1k. The 2k is an excellent sharpener, it's hard but not too glassy like some of the SP finishers (5k and above). I've tested extensivly, it'll work just dandy on just about anything other than hard steels with vanadium carbides specifically. It will quickly eat through the low allow carbon steels like nothing.

The 320 grit SP is another gem in the lineup. That'll come in handy if you need to sharpen something like HAP40 or take chips out of a carbon blade. The 12k I find to be another gem of the lineup. It's extremely similar to the much more expensive Naniwa chosera/pro 10k. The way they feel, the finish. I got a 10k chosera recently and I was quite surprised to discover just how similar it was to the much cheaper SP 12K.

 

[timebard]

Shapton Pro 320/2000.

Wont make pretty, will make sharp.

This or SG500 + SP2k would be my vote. Honestly with the $150 budget you could probably add a cheaper higher grit stone and stay under that mark.

If he had a spot to permasoak it and already has a diamond plate to flatten, the JKI 1k/6k combo stone is awesome. Gesshin 1000/6000 Combo Stone

 

[MrHiggins]

This or SG500 + SP2k would be my vote. Honestly with the $150 budget you could probably add a cheaper higher grit stone and stay under that mark.

This is what I'm going for, I think.

 

[Stockman]

For ease of use, speed and cost, hard to not consider the Shapton Pro range. I have 120, 320, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 12,000.
If I had to choose only 2 to fulfill most requirements, would definitely go with the 320 to set bevels, minor thinning and chip removal then straight onto the 2000 for a perfect Kitchen knife edge.
As another 2 stone option, maybe a Norton India Course/Fine duo and match it up with a nice Turkish natural stone for finishing - Turkey stones make great kitchen knife stones.

 

[M1k3]

Shapton Glass 500 and 4k. Get him a Shapton Pro case. Both stones fit in it and can be used as a stone holder still.

 

[MrHiggins]

Shapton Glass 500 and 4k. Get him a Shapton Pro case. Both stones fit in it and can be used as a stone holder still.

I ended up with the Shapton Glass 500 and Shapton Pro 2000.

As for a stone holder, my brother is a member of a "maker space" and has access to everything from 3d printers to CNC machines to plasma cutters and everything else in between, so he'll probably build himself a fancy sink bridge or something.

I appreciate everyone's responses!