Finger stones - What is your favourite beside uchigumori?

[KasumiJLA]

Hi all

New here but don't worry, I've been looking at KKF for a long time. I just didn't have the strength to join another community, but here I am and can't wait to share and discuss with all of you! My native language is French so I try my best to be the more accurate and make as few mistakes as possible..

First, I really like finger stones. It's like putting the glaze on a cake. The ritual is zen, making them is fun and almost any jnat can be use. I tried a lot of uchigumori (~12) with different hardness and finesse. I love this strata and I use them almost 90% of the time.

But I like to explore and try new things, that's the fun part right!? I discovered a nice little nugget today but unfortunately, apart from knowing that it's a soft Shobudani (lvl 3/5), I don't have any more information. I think it's a good match with the Ohira iromono I use on this kiridashi.

What about you! Do you have a specific stone you really like as finger stone?

Super soft Shobudani. It's like spreading butter!

Mizukihara uchigumori lvl 3,5/5. This is a test knife and I practiced a full kasumi on it.

The softest uchigumori I have. This one is around lvl 2,5/5 and it melts faster than light!

 

[ReiHamono]

Try shiro nagura finger stones, I have mejiro that I enjoy

Really it makes sense to have a matching finger stone for whatever stone you’re finishing with

 

[KasumiJLA]

Try shiro nagura finger stones, I have mejiro that I enjoy

Really it makes sense to have a matching finger stone for whatever stone you’re finishing with

I have already tried a nagura and it wears out at breakneck speed! I really should try the experience again. I try, because I only have 18 different finger stones, to find one that replicates the finish of the bench stone used. It's almost an obsession to discover and testing them haha

 

[Pie]

I applaud the resolve, as well as the results. Well done!

 

[Blank Blades.]

I havent tried a ton of natural fingerstones, just some uchigumori i broke off of a koppa i have, some tenjyou suita fingerstones, and i have some very hard kiita fingerstones. The person i got the kiita from recommended splitting them and lapping them very thin to avoid scratching. But i really havent had a ton off luck with it. Though admittedly i havent messed with those much.

Also. I really like to take my synthetic stones and use them as fingerstones when they reach the end of their sharpening life.

 

[KasumiJLA]

I havent tried a ton of natural fingerstones, just some uchigumori i broke off of a koppa i have, some tenjyou suita fingerstones, and i have some very hard kiita fingerstones. The person i got the kiita from recommended splitting them and lapping them very thin to avoid scratching. But i really havent had a ton off luck with it. Though admittedly i havent messed with those much.

Also. I really like to take my synthetic stones and use them as fingerstones when they reach the end of their sharpening life.

Some can be scratchy on different steel. I had some sweet and soft looking uchigumori that just doesn't work. Mystery of naturals

I agree that it need to be slim to a certain point. For me, I like to keep them around 1mm for the first "rough" polishing and after I pick one backed with paper and varnish, around 0,5mm thick, to refine everything. Works quite well and I can achieve a more homogeneous result.

I do use synthetic broke into big chunks to work on the ura! Usually a king 220 and a king 1k. Work pretty well to remove pitting and scratches.

*Picture is the ura done with "finger stone" synthetic