Selecting a finishing stone

[Absolute Buffoon]

Hey all, I've been thinking about a finishing stone, and I figured i'd ask for some advice.

Stones I've looked at: morihei hishiboshi 4k, shapton pro 3k, shapton glass 4k, gesshin 6k soaker. Also curious about hard and soft Arkansas, continues, and belgian blues, but I have no knowledge or frame of reference to consider them. I typically sharpen with lighter pressure, and like slightly more refined edges. Keeping just enough toothiness to attack peppers and fibrous veggies is nice though. I most like stones with good feedback and response. I'm also ok with soakers (and from what I've read, a lot of people opt for some of these when they want superior feedback).

Stones I currently own: suehiro cerax 1k.

Knives I currently own: mostly carbon, kyohei Shindo bunka (B2), kanetsune 210mm (nks32), hinokuni 240mm Gyuto (W1), Myojin riki cobalt special stainless.

Knives I'm looking at: Nao Yamamoto AS, unshu yukimitsu W1. Wanna make sure I grab one that doesn't feel awful with higher HRC carbon.

I'm curious as to how all these stones compare, what you guys might value from a stone you were using if you had knives similar or identical to the ones I have/want, and which one you would personally opt for.

 

[Nemo]

I assume we are taling about sharpening the edge rather than polishing?

For sharpening feel and feedback, Chosera 3k is great. Produces a great edgemfor kitchen use, probably in the 4 plus K JIS range.

I quite like the edges produced by Belgian Blue, although the feedback is inially a little odd. Almost "screechy". The edges are worth it though.

However, in the end, your developing sharpening skill is so much more important than the differences between a selection of decent quality stones.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

A Hard Arkansas has all but retired my SG4k and BBW. No feedback in the traditional sense but I love the edge. They aren't for everyone but they are for me.

 

[deltaplex]

What's the budget?

 

[mockit]

If you want to keep it synthetic I'd say Chosera 3k or Morihei 4k. Can't go wrong with either. If you want to go natural there are a bunch of options that are fun. I still love an Aizu (3-4k) finished edge. Coticules if you want finer.

 

[deltaplex]

If you want to keep it synthetic I'd say Chosera 3k or Morihei 4k. Can't go wrong with either. If you want to go natural there are a bunch of options that are fun. I still love an Aizu (3-4k) finished edge. Coticules if you want faster and finer.

fify

 

[arthurfowler]

Suehiro Ouka is a great stone to follow the Cerax 1000.

 

[Absolute Buffoon]

What's the budget?

Probably under $100. Definitely not interested in paying jnat prices (or interested in polishing enough to justify most of them at all), but I'll gladly budget for upper echelon synthetics that I know will probably stay with me for life regardless of whether they remain my primary stone or not a while down the road.

 

[deltaplex]

Do you do a normal soaker stone progression? I ask because I wouldn't end up using a soaker as a finisher if it were my only soaker stone. If I'm going from sg500 to say a SP 2k and then I wanted to jump up to the next refinement level, I'm not going to mess around with putting that soaker in a bucket (or managing a full time soak setup) and moving things around to make that the last step when I could just have another S&G (whether synth or natural) to handle the 6K range.

 

[Absolute Buffoon]

Do you do a normal soaker stone progression? I ask because I wouldn't end up using a soaker as a finisher if it were my only soaker stone. If I'm going from sg500 to say a SP 2k and then I wanted to jump up to the next refinement level, I'm not going to mess around with putting that soaker in a bucket (or managing a full time soak setup) and moving things around to make that the last step when I could just have another S&G (whether synth or natural) to handle the 6K range.

My only other stone is a suehiro cerax 1k. It used to be used as a S&G, but recently I started permasoaking it and it felt much more enjoyable to use. I'm definitely ok with managing another soaker or two in the setup.

 

[deltaplex]

Since you're already permasoaking: the Gesshin 6K is a really great stone, I can't recommend it enough. It is mildly acidic in use, so it's best to mix in something alkaline (washing/baking soda works well) with water in a spray bottle if you want to counteract the reactivity (more of a concern when polishing with it). I also find that the Suehiro's benfit from a permasoak. I'd probably still keep an eye out for a reasonably priced Washita or Coti/BBW, I use them differently than my 6k anyhow.

 

[M1k3]

Since you're already permasoaking: the Gesshin 6K is a really great stone, I can't recommend it enough. It is mildly acidic in use, so it's best to mix in something alkaline (washing/baking soda works well) with water in a spray bottle if you want to counteract the reactivity (more of a concern when polishing with it). I also find that the Suehiro's benfit from a permasoak. I'd probably still keep an eye out for a reasonably priced Washita or Coti/BBW, I use them differently than my 6k anyhow.

The 4k Gesshin is really great also. Just saying.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Nemo is spot on about the BBW. Screechy and doesn't sound good but makes nice edges.

Unshu Yukimitsu white 1 on a coticule is my most serotonin-releasing steel/stone combo by a mile. Feels so good, gets so sharp. Coticules are the best feeling stone I've tried as they're fairly creamy and just really pleasant to use with good feedback. I'm not down the jnat hole so my reference experience is limited. You can get an irregular shaped "bout" for less money than a square one.

 

[aporigine]

Whenever I see the phrase “finishing stone,” my mind bobsleds to this.