Japanese Natural Stones confuse the heck outta me!

[ptolemy]

Now, I know the easiest way is to email Marsim and have him take care of all of it but ideally, I'd like to learn about them so I can identify stones and be able to judge just based on the knowledge. Here is what I know and what confuses me. I also read Marsim's page and it is a good start but it still does not answer many of the questions and when I watch his great videos, when he says say: hakka lvl2, I know it means on the soft side, but that's about it.


1. I know they are sorted by Mine hardness, how quick they cut, and how easy to use.
Here is what confuses me:

1. How do I determine the grit? Just saying final stone or finishing stone, IMO is not precise enough because it could be 8000 or 20000 grit. I know that if a stone starts at 8000 it may breakdown to 20000 naturally, but still unless it specifically stated so, how would one know this?

2. What are all the other words after the mine name, for example: I know some stones have special names for non-toxic lines (beauty lines?). Maybe color? or something else?

3. Some stones have like #25 or #100. Is it some kind of chart? If so, could someone provide a link to me?

4. Lastly, since most people here agree that Japanese naturals or synthetic stones are the best (with few exceptions of high end european finishing stones like Escher, coticules), maybe a detailed thread can be established with the information.

Thanks

 

[rulesnut]

I can help with #3.

http://thejapanblade.com/Copy_2_of_size2.jpg

 

[rulesnut]

I can help with #2.

http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1821

 

[ptolemy]

I can help with #3.

http://thejapanblade.com/Copy_2_of_size2.jpg

Oh. I think you just illustrated my point. is grade # referring to what? thickness? or something else?

 

[ptolemy]

I can help with #2.

http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1821

very cool. reading

 

[mainaman]

1. How do I determine the grit? Just saying final stone or finishing stone, IMO is not precise enough because it could be 8000 or 20000 grit. I know that if a stone starts at 8000 it may breakdown to 20000 naturally, but still unless it specifically stated so, how would one know this?

there is no grits for naturals, the abrasive particles break down and become finer as you work the slurry.

2. What are all the other words after the mine name, for example: I know some stones have special names for non-toxic lines (beauty lines?). Maybe color? or something else?

there is no words for non toxic lines.
The stone description includes mine of origin, strata, color, and cosmetic features, such as different color spotting.
The rarer the features of the stone the more expensive it will be but not necessarily better.

3. Some stones have like #25 or #100. Is it some kind of chart? If so, could someone provide a link to me?

that is the size of the stone as posted in a pic already

 

[DrNaka]

About #number.
Originally the number indicate how many stones you can carry in a old Japanese container.
So the bigger the number the smaller the stone.

But now it will indicate a size. #40 and #30 will be almost same size but #40 will have a cut corner.

Most #24 will be over double of the weight of a #30.