Hi! Thinking of splash and go stones: Gesshin vs Shapton Glass vs Shapton Pro vs Naniwa Professional?

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josemartinlopez

josemartinlopez

我會買所有的獨角獸
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Hi there! I'm buying my first whetstones and decided to keep things simple and get splash and go. I'll be realistic and just admit I don't have a lot of patience to wait for stones to soak or dry, and don't have a lot of space to lay out soaking equipment. I want to get just a roughly 1000 and a fine grit stone and be done (and maybe a coarse stone to round out). I anticipate having 1-2 good Western and 1-2 good Japanese knives plus a couple of utility knives in each (I'm sure these are famous last words on this forum).

I don't do heavy duty chopping but I don't mind spending a little on a couple of good stones right away instead of starting on a beginner stone then upgrading. I appreciate the artisanship in the knives and stones so would love to have a few good ones, not necessarily a collection. Researching is confusing as it's easy to find posts about people liking a certain stone, but not posts explaining why exactly and how one stone compares to another.

I was thinking of:

- Gesshin 1500 and 6000 - supposed to be the higher end recommendation with good feedback, available only from Japanese Knife Imports (and I'm not in the USA)

- Shapton Glass 1000 and 6000 - sharpen fast and people say these work even on harder steels, only con is that they have a shorter lifespan (not relevant to me as I don't plan on sharpening 10 knives a month)

- Shapton Pro 1000 and 5000 - also good, thicker than the glass and might last a bit longer?

- Naniwa Professional 1000 and 3000 - also good but understand they are not true splash and go and need to soak a little, plus there are reported issues with cracking

Any advice on how to choose? Also, would it make sense to get a 2000 instead of a 1000 stone, or get 1000 / 3000 / 5000 or 6000 instead of just 1000 / 5000 or 6000?
 
FYI, while our gesshin 1500 is truly a splash and go stone, the 6000 (blue speckled one) is best when soaked permanently (as are most resinoid based stones)... the truly splash and go stones from our store include the 320, 600 no soak, 1500, 3000 no soak, maido 2k, maido 7k, and diamond stones
 
Thanks! How do the Gesshins compare to the Naniwas and Shaptons? I was curious how Japanese stones made for an American retailer were customized in a way that people seem to like more than Japanese stones from Japanese retailers.
 
Welcome to the forum.

If you can reach deep enough the Gesshin 1 and 6K Diamond plates could easily be all the stones you ever need. (Best) Take the one time hit on shipping and be done.

Alternatively JNS (Denmark) offers a nice selection of s&g and may be easier on shipping for non US. locals. (VG)

A more budget friendly (and readily available) solution is the Shapton series. Mine include the SG500, SP1000, SP2000 and SP5000. (Good)
 
Best is totally subjective and won't be really identifiable until you try several stones. What I love you might hate and vice versa. The Shaptons are solid stones that many love, they just work. I have and love several of the stones from JKI and felt like they were worth the expense. I also have and enjoy my Chosera. It's easy to really over think this process.
 
I'm also interested to hear comparisons between those brands / product lines, have been trying to research the same myself
 
SeattleBen said:
Best is totally subjective and won't be really identifiable until you try several stones. What I love you might hate and vice versa. The Shaptons are solid stones that many love, they just work. I have and love several of the stones from JKI and felt like they were worth the expense. I also have and enjoy my Chosera. It's easy to really over think this process.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I've been having trouble finding comparisons from people who actually tried the stones. How are these three sets of stones different, based on your experience?
 
nexus1935 said:
I'm also interested to hear comparisons between those brands / product lines, have been trying to research the same myself
Click to expand...
josemartinlopez said:
Thanks. I've been having trouble finding comparisons from people who actually tried the stones. How are these three sets of stones different, based on your experience?
Click to expand...
This subject comes up at least weekly and Ben is exactly right that it's largely subjective. Not unlike automobiles, some prefer Toyota (and are correct)) while others prefer Ford, Chevy or Whatever. Like the stones, at the end of the day, they'll all get you where youre going.

I'm not saying there's not some Yugo out there. Avoid (most) Amazon offerings, avoid rebranded stones by makers, avoid most combo stones.
I
Objectively don't like the Bestor 500 cause it's impossible to find the sweet spot between to wet and to dry - do like the Bestor 1200. I don't like King cause I don't like washing orange mud down the drain. And I don't like Chosera just because.....
 
josemartinlopez said:
Thanks. I've been having trouble finding comparisons from people who actually tried the stones. How are these three sets of stones different, based on your experience?
Click to expand...


My JKI stones are the soakers. I love them (with the exception of the 220), good feedback and fast cutting. Downside is that they take up a cambro soaking all the time and they're fast to dish. Especially the 220, and 400 which is where I find that I spend a lot of time on other people's knives. (This is another post entirely)

The only Shapton I have is the one I mentioned. The SP320, I've been all over the board with it. I got it, liked it ok, had it a while, then hated it. Now I'm back to where I quite fancy it. It's hard, has bad feedback compared to the JKI stones and can load for me if I'm not attentive. It doesn't dish that quickly and it's going to outlive my JKI 400. I'd replace it I guess but I'm for sure going to replace my JKI 400.

I bought the chosera 1k to try something else than that what I had at the time. It's fast for what it is and is often where I stop if I'm doing other people's knives. It doesn't seem to wear too fast but it doesn't love being lapped too much with an Atoma in my opinion. My biggest beef with it is that it sheds green all over the place and stains my hands. See somebody else's beef with rinsing orange stone detritus down the sink. I'd buy this again.

But these are just some random person's thoughts on the internet. You may absolutely hate the JKI stones or vices versa.

Good luck and best wishes to you.
 
As long as the stones are of decent quality, your skill as a sharpener is much more important than the stone itself. Yes, they have differnces in speed, how well they cut highly alloyed steels, whether soaking is required and feedback but you will likely adapt to most quality stones.
 
daveb said:
This subject comes up at least weekly and Ben is exactly right that it's largely subjective. Not unlike automobiles, some prefer Toyota (and are correct)) while others prefer Ford, Chevy or Whatever. Like the stones, at the end of the day, they'll all get you where youre going.

I'm not saying there's not some Yugo out there. Avoid (most) Amazon offerings, avoid rebranded stones by makers, avoid most combo stones.
I
Objectively don't like the Bestor 500 cause it's impossible to find the sweet spot between to wet and to dry - do like the Bestor 1200. I don't like King cause I don't like washing orange mud down the drain. And I don't like Chosera just because.....
Click to expand...
Yeah I could certainly see how a lot of it is personal preference, and the knives that people are having to sharpen on those stones.

Primarily I like to read comparisons to see whether the price differences are worth it. When I was looking for a 3000 grit stone, there are lots of recommendations for the Chosera 3000, but it's a ~$120 stone. When I looked at the Shapton Glass 3000, it was ~$80, so I wonder whether 50% more money is worth it. (Luckily I found one used on BST which I was super excited for!).
 
josemartinlopez said:
Hi there! I'm buying my first whetstones and decided to keep things simple and get splash and go. I'll be realistic and just admit I don't have a lot of patience to wait for stones to soak or dry, and don't have a lot of space to lay out soaking equipment. I want to get just a roughly 1000 and a fine grit stone and be done (and maybe a coarse stone to round out). I anticipate having 1-2 good Western and 1-2 good Japanese knives plus a couple of utility knives in each (I'm sure these are famous last words on this forum).

I don't do heavy duty chopping but I don't mind spending a little on a couple of good stones right away instead of starting on a beginner stone then upgrading. I appreciate the artisanship in the knives and stones so would love to have a few good ones, not necessarily a collection. Researching is confusing as it's easy to find posts about people liking a certain stone, but not posts explaining why exactly and how one stone compares to another.

I was thinking of:

- Gesshin 1500 and 6000 - supposed to be the higher end recommendation with good feedback, available only from Japanese Knife Imports (and I'm not in the USA)

- Shapton Glass 1000 and 6000 - sharpen fast and people say these work even on harder steels, only con is that they have a shorter lifespan (not relevant to me as I don't plan on sharpening 10 knives a month)

- Shapton Pro 1000 and 5000 - also good, thicker than the glass and might last a bit longer?

- Naniwa Professional 1000 and 3000 - also good but understand they are not true splash and go and need to soak a little, plus there are reported issues with cracking

Any advice on how to choose? Also, would it make sense to get a 2000 instead of a 1000 stone, or get 1000 / 3000 / 5000 or 6000 instead of just 1000 / 5000 or 6000?
Click to expand...
I’m new to whetstones too. Just bought my first few. I have several western knives and some Shun too. Last night I tried my first ever sharpening session on a Victorinox stamped steel knife. I only used the Naniwa Chosera 800. Went slowly and followed along from the many excellent videos from JKI.

Within 20 minutes I began to get a nice rhythm going. Didn’t get a completely uniform edge, but I did manage to make a few thrilling paper slices at the end. Cooked dinner tonight with a noticeably sharper knife!!!

I sought the same advice as you. It was a pleasure using the Naniwa Chosera 800. From all I’ve learned here, this particular stone cuts much more closely to a 1000-1500 grit, which you seem to want. I did not soak it, but did wet it very well and kept wetting it frequently. Seemed to work very well with minimum time waiting. I am just a beginner, but hope this gives you encouragement.

Best of luck
 
nexus1935 said:
Yeah I could certainly see how a lot of it is personal preference, and the knives that people are having to sharpen on those stones.

Primarily I like to read comparisons to see whether the price differences are worth it. When I was looking for a 3000 grit stone, there are lots of recommendations for the Chosera 3000, but it's a ~$120 stone. When I looked at the Shapton Glass 3000, it was ~$80, so I wonder whether 50% more money is worth it. (Luckily I found one used on BST which I was super excited for!).
Click to expand...
Well, in that specific example, the SG is a thinner stone, although it wears much more slowly, so maybe similar lifetime? SG is probably faster and maybe slightly better for uber alloyed steels (Chosera is also very good at highly alloyed steels).

Choseras perform noticeably finer than the listed grit. For example, the 3k performs at around 4k JIS. Choseras also have (to me at least) have much better feedback.

Some poeple have had Choseras crack at the surface. I haven't. To me, it's unclear whether this occurs because the stone was not sealed, because it was soaked (Choseras should be strictly S&G) or because of something to do with the particular local climate or water composition.
 
Thanks for the insight @Nemo ! Even if my first sharpenings, the SG does feel very different than the Chosera in terms of feedback - but it still raised a burr quickly so I'm happy with it. Will need to use it more to determine a preference.

Fingers crossed that my Chosera doesn't crack either!
 
IMO Shapton Glass 500 and Shapton Pro 2k together are the cheapest and easiest route to reproducible sharpness that seems ideal for kitchen knives. This will cover 95% of needs, and an additional 140 grit diamond plate will flatten both stones AND take care of any severe tire damage.*

*sez a guy with a dozen synthetic stones, 3 diamond plates and a half dozen natural stones
 
Carlo said:
IMO Shapton Glass 500 and Shapton Pro 2k together are the cheapest and easiest route...
Click to expand...
Heh, thanks, is there any more expensive, slightly harder but ultimately better route if price is not the main concern?
 
I would go with

SG500 - cuts really fast, doesn't wear too much, perfect to start a new edge, or do small fixes.

Naniwa Chosera 1000 over SP1000 - will finish most knives on this stone, better feedback, better finish. SP1000 is more like an 800 grit stone for real, SP1000 is good and fast for not so good knives.

Also love SP2000, great stone, fast, doesn't wear, great finish, just works perfectly.

Arashyama 6000 or Kitayama 8000 for finishing the Japanese Knives, great stones, I do like the hybrid thing of these stones, feedback is good. Leave an great edge with lots of bite. Same way I like the JNS Aoto Matukusuyama (something like an 2000 ~ 3000 grit).
 
adrianopedro said:
I would go with

SG500 - cuts really fast, doesn't wear too much, perfect to start a new edge, or do small fixes.

Naniwa Chosera 1000 over SP1000 - will finish most knives on this stone, better feedback, better finish. SP1000 is more like an 800 grit stone for real, SP1000 is good and fast for not so good knives.

Also love SP2000, great stone, fast, doesn't wear, great finish, just works perfectly.

Arashyama 6000 or Kitayama 8000 for finishing the Japanese Knives, great stones, I do like the hybrid thing of these stones, feedback is good. Leave an great edge with lots of bite. Same way I like the JNS Aoto Matukusuyama (something like an 2000 ~ 3000 grit).
Click to expand...
What is the hybrid thing?
 
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