"Ocrean Blue" Tsushima on Amazon - is it as bad as I assume it is?

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DanHumphrey

DanHumphrey

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CMY2HA2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

With no idea where y'all find your Jnats, I searched Amazon on a whim and found the above. It's claimed to be a 12k from a "now closed underwater mine near South Tsushima Island". Which it may be, but I have no idea, and I haven't been able to find a reference to this thing while searching (unsurprisingly). One reviewer, at least, said it didn't seem to be a true 12k. That would be fine with me, but is there any chance it's decent? My only nats are a soft Hideriyama from Jon and a binsui and Khao Men from Myles, and I was looking for a harder one to try.
 
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I know Tsushima were called ocean blue by western carpenters. Expect it to max out at 5K not 12k. Bloody good price
 
Interesting. So if I'm ok with it not being 12k, it could give a nice toothy finish for a gyuto? Might have to pick one up, in that case.
 
That purple hue looks not entirely unlike a blue coticule, often also called a 5k equivalent. Is there a stone-o-logical similarity?
 
Looks different from my Tsushima. As Badger said, they are in the 5-6K region and make a good finisher for gyutos.
 
USPS delivered mine today. I bought the least expensive stone which included Amazon Prime two-day delivery. It came with a soft case made from a leatherlike material that holds both the the stone and nagura with a spacer in-between so they don't knock against each other.

It's a decent size, about the same as two Shapton GlassStones stacked on one another, but about 5mm shorter.

It's not a muddy stone, though a slurry forms fairly easily even without the included nagura. The edges were not chamfered, though the stone was acceptably flat out of the box.

It put a nice, polished edge on the knives I touched up. I'd estimate it to be 8k+, and could be close to the advertised 12k. It was reminiscent of the edge that I get from the Chinese 12k "PHIG".

I'll try it on a straight razor next.

Rick
 
I have that same smallest one, with Prime, in my cart. So it's worth buying?

And what's the PHIG?
 
DanHumphrey said:
I have that same smallest one, with Prime, in my cart. So it's worth buying?

And what's the PHIG?
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It's worth buying if you want or need a finishing/polishing stone. There are less expensive synthetic stones that will do the same job, for example, the Shapton Pro 8000 or 12000.

People's Hone of Indetermite Grit. A tongue-in-cheek name for an inexpensive Chinese sourced stone of somewhere around 12k that is popular with straight razor aficionados.
 
The Amazon stone is a different size version of the legendary Tsushima stone. They're more often sold large, as at JNS, or as small slurry stones, as at Japan Woodworker. These are quite high grit and not terribly useful for anything but razors. They are incredibly clean though, which is why I have a big one.
 
rick_english said:
The Amazon stone is a different size version of the legendary Tsushima stone. They're more often sold large, as at JNS, or as small slurry stones, as at Japan Woodworker. These are quite high grit and not terribly useful for anything but razors. They are incredibly clean though, which is why I have a big one.
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Thanks for the info! So, why does being clean mean you have one? Just because it's nice to look at, or for completeness's sake, or is there a use for a super-clean stone other than sharpening that I'm not aware of?

I took it out of my cart for now - at almost $90, I don't see much of a need for a stone that's not actually that useful.
 
I don't have any jnats, but the price seems tempting. Any guesses if this would make me feel hateful as a first time jnat? Also, does this need to be lacquered on the sides and bottom? Thanks!
 
Perhaps a cautionary note, they are very useful for knives, they max out at about 5K and leave nasty, aggressive edges. So far so good right? What a lot of sharpeners don't like is how they feel in use, a sort of nails-on-a-chalkboard thing which for many is a dealbreaker
 
Badgertooth said:
Perhaps a cautionary note, they are very useful for knives, they max out at about 5K and leave nasty, aggressive edges. So far so good right? What a lot of sharpeners don't like is how they feel in use, a sort of nails-on-a-chalkboard thing which for many is a dealbreaker
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Thank you! You just saved me some curiosity cash.
 
I want to hook up the car battery and alligator clips and revive this dead old thread.

Has anyone lived with one of these stones for a while and have some long term thoughts?

I'm getting into razors, and have a coticule that doesn't seem to quite get the razor to HHT but it's really close. Wondering if this might be a good option.

On the other hand I don't have a quality linen leather combo hanging strop. I have the Knife House flat leather strop. Maybe that would be a better use of $100. Any old pros have thoughts? No young pros, please....:nono:
 
Real Tsushima stones are nice; this isn't one. The Amazon seller is a serious hype-meister; look at the keyword spam in his listing title:
Natural Sharpening Honing Stone Waterstone Knife Chisel Plane Blade Razor Sharpener
Real Tsushimas are closer to 8k than 12k, and they tend to have a thick square profile, not a thin rectangular profile like this one. IMO a coticule is a better finisher for razors, but that depends of course on the particular coticule.
 
I own only a few Jnats but I would only ever buy one from a trusted seller that tested the particular stone and can provide feedback.
 
Gotcha! Thanks everyone. Saved me some curiosity bucks as well. Going for a good strop instead. Using a janky home strop has improved things enough that I think a well made one will help more than another stone.

Good point about the trusted seller rule. Easy to forget when you're excited about something new.
 
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captaincaed said:
Sounds like mixed reviews at best, and the origin is a little murky. Thanks.

Is that jasper hone still working out for you?
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Yes I am quite fond of my jasper hone. Most days it's my favorite finisher. I have a butterscotch translucent Ark that I also like quite a bit. And a particularly creamy coticule. But they are both smaller format stones. The jasper is a very convenient size. Approximately 8"x2".
 
DanHumphrey said:
Thanks for the info! So, why does being clean mean you have one? Just because it's nice to look at, or for completeness's sake, or is there a use for a super-clean stone other than sharpening that I'm not aware of?

I took it out of my cart for now - at almost $90, I don't see much of a need for a stone that's not actually that useful.
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Clean means the stones dont have many inclusions or lines harder than the surrounding material that would scratch a polish or ruin an edge.
Most mid grits are like that though, so it isnt like tsushima offer anything unique because they are clean. Tsushima are not particularly great at what they do, and I think 5k is a generous estimation. 3 is closer to average on cladding.
 
captaincaed said:
I never understood Arks as a knife guy. I'm starting to understand as a razor guy... And of course the coticules just feel great.

Hope you've had good luck setting your workshop up.
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The workshop project is still just in my head. Buying a house was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. We are on our fourth offer and our third contract. We got outbid on one and two fell apart after inspection. But I think we finally found a keeper. And no garage so I get to design and build it how I want. Close on February 3 is the plan. In the meantime I picked a lousy couple of months to housesit for friends on Capitol Hill while we wait for the deal to go through.
 
stringer said:
The workshop project is still just in my head. Buying a house was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. We are on our fourth offer and our third contract. We got outbid on one and two fell apart after inspection. But I think we finally found a keeper. And no garage so I get to design and build it how I want. Close on February 3 is the plan. In the meantime I picked a lousy couple of months to housesit for friends on Capitol Hill while we wait for the deal to go through.
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Sounds like an emotional roller coaster. Both on the house buying and house sitting. Whatcha doing to stay sane?
 
stringer said:
The workshop project is still just in my head. Buying a house was a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. We are on our fourth offer and our third contract. We got outbid on one and two fell apart after inspection. But I think we finally found a keeper. And no garage so I get to design and build it how I want. Close on February 3 is the plan. In the meantime I picked a lousy couple of months to housesit for friends on Capitol Hill while we wait for the deal to go through.
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Nice! Are you staying in Mass or moving out?
 
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