I try my best to not fall into a collecting trap, so sometimes good stuff has to get cut loose. Also had some shipping mishaps lately that are tying up funds so timing is right to continue selling some stuff from my personal stacks.
Kurama - 215x65x60 / $225
I purchased this stone here from the venerable forumite @musicman980 . He was kind enough to make a sublime teak dai for the stone as well. While sold as an Aoto, I actually believe this one to be a stone from Mt. Kurama. While lesser known than Aoto from Tanba or even Kouzaki, Kurama has can have even loftier reputation though it is now rather rare as it has not been mined in a long time. This hunch is supported by the hybrid saw marks - with hand sawn ends and power sawn sides. The raw ore, therefore, would pre-date the 1930’s while the individual stone was hewn sometime later.
In my experience, this stone is what I’ve always wanted Tsushima nagura to be. Fast, hard, grit consistent and on the finest end of mid-grit range. I find the speed of this stone to be comparable to bench nagura or Aizu though the finish is a bit finer than most Aizu but not as fine as a Koma block. The stone is hard, but the feedback is smooth and not at all grabby. For polishing you can get a bright, consistent finish that is great for bridging synthetics to Kyoto area suita and tomae. For sharpening you can get a very crisp edge in the 5-6k equivalent range. Given its hardness and grit consistency I wouldn’t hesitate to use this nakato on razors or tools either. Works great with or without forced slurry. Great stone, but isn’t quite going to supplant my Koma so looking to re-home this one.
Vintage, Sun Tiger Natsuya - 211x78x60 / $215
This one brings a little more of a sting as it was my first and still favorite vintage Natsuya (and only my 3rd or 4th JNat). Sparked a bit of an obsession and I’ve since prepped, used, and sold a few dozen of these. Very interesting mid-grit stones one the coarser side of quality Jnats. Will leave a nice toothy edge, especially if using forced slurry. But I think polishing is their strong suit. Very consistent scratch pattern in the 2.5k range. Can start with slurry and quickly erase 2k synth scratches and then dilute the slurry with water until burnishing only which leaves a very detailed smooth polish that is sufficient on its own or ready to move up to a soft suita. Few small chips along the edge of the stone due to shipping damage, but nothing structural. All sides are flattened and edges rounding.
Aizu - 210x75x70 / $140
This Aizu is as good as it gets quality wise. Pale blue with white dots throughout. Very firm / fine stone without being too glassy or grabby. Great for edges and polishing. There is a caveat, however. The stone developed a crack on one side that was big enough to cause worry. I’ve since sealed in multiple coats of cashew and wrapped in cashew impregnated twine. This should stave off water penetration and damaged but is worthy of note. I also didn’t so a good enough sealing the face so there is some staining on the top surface. Will take a bit to work through the staining but doesn’t impact use. Another stone that my Koma has, almost sadly, rendered a bit redundant. Final coat is drying so won't ship until that's done, probably mid next week.
Unknown JNat - 195x62x80 / $100
Performs kinda like a Tanba aoto but a bit less muddy and a bit finer. Not too hard, pretty quick, decent contrasty finish, good edges. The fuzzy auction photos had me thinking it could be a very rare Aizu variant, but it isn’t that. Pretty nice little stone regardless of it’s type.
Bench nagura - 205x65x44 / $140: deal of the thread tbh, already discounted in an older posting so keeping that price here
This stone is weight with benign grey lines and sparse black dots. The surface is difficult to photograph but is a swirl of bright white and light grey. This stone is harder and finer than the above mid grits. While you will sacrifice speed compared coarser mid grits, the ceiling for finish is finer. Very detailed burnished finishes are possible allowing you to pull out detail you might have thought non-existent otherwise. Great for edges as well. I have honed razors on this stone and find it to be a great transition from synthetic to awasedo for heavier sharpening. I also tried shaving off this just for fun after using diligently using the Dilucot method and while it wasn’t good, I was surprised at how close-to-almost-good-enough it was after a bare leather strop.
In my experience, this stone is what I’ve always wanted Tsushima nagura to be. Fast, hard, grit consistent and on the finest end of mid-grit range. I find the speed of this stone to be comparable to bench nagura or Aizu though the finish is a bit finer than most Aizu but not as fine as a Koma block. The stone is hard, but the feedback is smooth and not at all grabby. For polishing you can get a bright, consistent finish that is great for bridging synthetics to Kyoto area suita and tomae. For sharpening you can get a very crisp edge in the 5-6k equivalent range. Given its hardness and grit consistency I wouldn’t hesitate to use this nakato on razors or tools either. Works great with or without forced slurry. Great stone, but isn’t quite going to supplant my Koma so looking to re-home this one.
Vintage, Sun Tiger Natsuya - 211x78x60 / $215
This one brings a little more of a sting as it was my first and still favorite vintage Natsuya (and only my 3rd or 4th JNat). Sparked a bit of an obsession and I’ve since prepped, used, and sold a few dozen of these. Very interesting mid-grit stones one the coarser side of quality Jnats. Will leave a nice toothy edge, especially if using forced slurry. But I think polishing is their strong suit. Very consistent scratch pattern in the 2.5k range. Can start with slurry and quickly erase 2k synth scratches and then dilute the slurry with water until burnishing only which leaves a very detailed smooth polish that is sufficient on its own or ready to move up to a soft suita. Few small chips along the edge of the stone due to shipping damage, but nothing structural. All sides are flattened and edges rounding.
Aizu - 210x75x70 / $140
This Aizu is as good as it gets quality wise. Pale blue with white dots throughout. Very firm / fine stone without being too glassy or grabby. Great for edges and polishing. There is a caveat, however. The stone developed a crack on one side that was big enough to cause worry. I’ve since sealed in multiple coats of cashew and wrapped in cashew impregnated twine. This should stave off water penetration and damaged but is worthy of note. I also didn’t so a good enough sealing the face so there is some staining on the top surface. Will take a bit to work through the staining but doesn’t impact use. Another stone that my Koma has, almost sadly, rendered a bit redundant. Final coat is drying so won't ship until that's done, probably mid next week.
Unknown JNat - 195x62x80 / $100
Performs kinda like a Tanba aoto but a bit less muddy and a bit finer. Not too hard, pretty quick, decent contrasty finish, good edges. The fuzzy auction photos had me thinking it could be a very rare Aizu variant, but it isn’t that. Pretty nice little stone regardless of it’s type.
This stone is weight with benign grey lines and sparse black dots. The surface is difficult to photograph but is a swirl of bright white and light grey. This stone is harder and finer than the above mid grits. While you will sacrifice speed compared coarser mid grits, the ceiling for finish is finer. Very detailed burnished finishes are possible allowing you to pull out detail you might have thought non-existent otherwise. Great for edges as well. I have honed razors on this stone and find it to be a great transition from synthetic to awasedo for heavier sharpening. I also tried shaving off this just for fun after using diligently using the Dilucot method and while it wasn’t good, I was surprised at how close-to-almost-good-enough it was after a bare leather strop.
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