Home cook - one and only jnat

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lemeneid said:
If its going to be your "one and only" jnat, that Aoto will be worth it. I got mine from a forum member here, who got it from AFrames, and from what I see they got some nice ones still available.

Here is the one I got
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/rare-hard-aoto.42015/
Click to expand...
I almost bought that stone! Litterally bought a Kouzaki Aoto 48 hrs before that post! I love the comment #2 on that thread with, Badger saying it took HIM ... 5 years ... To find something like that ...

Heads up if u ever sell that [emoji13]
 
Ohira Asagi (JNS 4, Watanabe HS-55(ish), Aframes 8.7): I have used these examples and while all had their own personality they were very much interchangeable. 4-6k edge if compared to synthetics. All on the softer side of hard and fast.

Yaginoshima Asagi (JNS 3.5, Watanabe HS-50, Aframes 8.4, and one other without a listing): Again, all had their own personalities but all very, very similar in use. Fast, fine and on the softer side of hard. About a 6-8k edge when compared to synthetics.

Oouchi: (JKI: No scale listed but said to be not too hard and not too soft. If I had to place it I'd say it falls between a JNS 3.5-4, Aframes 8.2) Again, these two stones were similar, very similar, in use. Fast, fine and on the softer side of hard. Probably softer than the other two if I had to say. Around 6-8k as well but I'd say closer to 6 than 8.

Any of those stones would be fine with me as a general purpose finisher on a narrow bevel. I'd blindly keep any one of them but I'll tell you which I did in fact keep. The Yagi listed as other and the Oouchi from JKI fwiw.

Which stone I use the most is none of the above though. That is in fact a Hideriyama from Jon B at JKI that I have fallen in love with over the past few years. However, I have used a few Hideriyama that were turds to say the least. Take that for whatever it is worth.

What I will end with is this. Buy from a trusted vendor/member who tests their stones. Tell them what you want and be specific. The name/mine associated with the stone at that point shouldn't really matter. Used stones on this forum are a good way to go too.

And you thought I was going to say Aizu.
 
If you mean it about one natural: don´t get the aoto.
It´s very much hit and miss. There is so many bad aotos out there.
Besides, if you have a good 4K stone, why not get a bit finer one to finish on.

Ohira Suita
Aiiwatani
Shinden suita
Okudo suita
Nakayama

These names are the game you should hunt.
Aiiwatani you can find in super quality cheaper than the rest of them I would guess.
But that should not lead you to think they are inferrior to the rest. They are not!

Or you could have a look at this takashima suita if you want a looker:
https://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/takashima-karasu-suita-lv-4-a1923/

Personally I like lv 3 or 3,5 so I think the lv 4 are a bit hard for me, but it would make it easier to use with naguras.
 
Xenif said:
I almost bought that stone! Litterally bought a Kouzaki Aoto 48 hrs before that post! I love the comment #2 on that thread with, Badger saying it took HIM ... 5 years ... To find something like that ...

Heads up if u ever sell that [emoji13]
Click to expand...
It was badger who gave me the thumbs up on the stone. I was pretty lucky with this stone, being second in line and all, the first guy backed out. Thats all I need to know that this stone is going to my children and my descendants. Or to the grave with me if they don't give an arse about knives!
 
Just 1 jnat eh! Then I assume you’re going to have like 14 synthetics laying around. I like oouchi recommendation it was my first one as well and was a pretty lucky choice. Still gets used often as a finisher. But I think if I could only have one any suita would probably be grabbed.
 
For my first I wrote Watanabe and laid out my level of sharpening skill, the knives I’d be sharpening , the kind of sharp I was looking for, and a price range. I don’t recall now what he led me to, but it was perfect. Super easy stone. Great feed back, quick to slurry but doesn’t get excessive. Nice edge in the 6000 - 8000 gritish range. All for about $150.
 
Phip said:
For my first I wrote Watanabe and laid out my level of sharpening skill, the knives I’d be sharpening , the kind of sharp I was looking for, and a price range. I don’t recall now what he led me to, but it was perfect. Super easy stone. Great feed back, quick to slurry but doesn’t get excessive. Nice edge in the 6000 - 8000 gritish range. All for about $150.
Click to expand...

How many do you have now?

I'm guessing not just one?
 
Ah, quite true, Nemo. I have about 10 and am on the hunt for another aoto now. But that original purchase from Sin is still the one I go to for a no-hassle more refined edge after my 2000 grit synth. It's kind of the lodestar I reorient with regularly.
 
Well, I guess I'll just spiral after all. Just one or two naturals. Or three. Four, out of necessity. Perfectly justified, of course. Yessir. Five max.

Thanks for the solid recommendations all! Lost power for a few days and now new solar panels seem to have stolen my wallet. The new year will see some new stones once it is returned. Hopefully just one of those will become my "go to". Perhaps that's all I can really hope for ;)
 
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