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Ehhh yeah. Looks like 30-50% higher than can be found on yahoo japan, especially for the full size stones. Some nice ones in there though
Yes, you can find some really high quality stones on the auctions, but the clearly high-quality Maruka tend to go for big money there too and you always run the risk of counterfeit stamps. At least with these you know you're getting legit, high quality Nakayama w/ authentic stamps. CKC isnt going to get rich off these either, knowing where prices are now vs 3-4 years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if CKC is getting a similar return per-stone profit but at a much lower margin.

$2700 is an eye watering sum, even for those of us who are well anesthetized to the price tags associated with fancy jnats... But hey, this stone here is as good as ultra-fine stones get. If someone wanted to skip buying a half dozen nice stones finding just the right one and wanted to "buy once cry once" this would be the answer IMO
https://carbonknifeco.com/collections/natural-stones/products/nakayama-tomae-madara-023
 
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For newbie stoners can you explain what makes this a game ending stone?
With JNats, there are all sorts of criteria upon which a stone is valued.
  • Regular shape
  • Four intact corners
  • Full-sized (200x70+)
  • Oversized (220x80+)
  • Over 30 / 40 / 50 / 60mm thick
  • Over 50mm thick
  • Known, reliable pedigree
  • Collectible stamps
  • Desirable aesthetics
  • Without toxic inclusions vs perfectly clean vs dirty
  • Performance characteristics - hardness, fineness, consistency of particle, sharpening feel, etc.
Some of these are more utility oriented and others more prestige focuses. With each additional box you check, you are increasingly the price by a pretty significant amount. Since stones run the spectrum from cheap mediocre koppa at $40 to flawless type 24 suita at $4k++ its up to everyone to choose their sweet spot in terms of balancing tradeoffs.

In general though, the nicer the stone, the fewer compromises it comes with and the easier it is to use. In this case, the stone is full size, very pure, regularly shaped with all four corners, has the coveted Maruka stamp from a very reliable source, etc. It was bound to be on the expensive end before we even got too deep into performance.

Performance wise, this particular sub-flavor of Nakayama tomae is just about the perfect ultra-finisher for kitchen knives. They’re incredibly fine, very consistent grit, and hard without being unforgiving. It won’t tear at soft iron, which a lot of very fine stones will. It also behaves very predictably, much less likely to have random streaking than other stones in its class. Other stones can be the equal of these, but they're not common or predictable. Meanwhile every Naka tomae like that one I've used has been an absolute banger.
 
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With JNats, there are all sorts of criteria upon which a stone is valued.
  • Regular shape
  • Four intact corners
  • Full-sized (200x70+)
  • Oversized (220x80+)
  • Over 30 / 40 / 50 / 60mm thick
  • Over 50mm thick
  • Known, reliable pedigree
  • Collectible stamps
  • Desirable aesthetics
  • Without toxic inclusions vs perfectly clean vs dirty
  • Performance characteristics - hardness, fineness, consistency of particle, sharpening feel, etc.
Some of these are more utility oriented and others more prestige focuses. With each additional box you check, you are increasingly the price by a pretty significant amount. Since stones run the spectrum from cheap mediocre koppa at $40 to flawless type 24 suita at $4k++ its up to everyone to choose their sweet spot in terms of balancing tradeoffs.

In general though, the nicer the stone, the fewer compromises it comes with and the easier it is to use. In this case, the stone is full size, very pure, regularly shaped with all four corners, has the coveted Maruka stamp from a very reliable source, etc. It was bound to be on the expensive end before we even got too deep into performance.

Performance wise, this particular sub-flavor of Nakayama tomae is just about the perfect ultra-finisher for kitchen knives. They’re incredibly fine, very consistent grit, and hard without being unforgiving. It won’t tear at soft iron, which a lot of very fine stones will. It also behaves very predictably, much less likely to have random streaking than other stones in its class. Other stones can be the equal of these, but they're not common or predictable. Meanwhile every Naka tomae like that one I've used has been an absolute banger.

I would also add 1 other thing... These stones are generally much harder to use and are less forgiving, for if you gouge the flat edge of the stone, you could spend 20-40min flattening it and removing a lot of stone. I wouldn't recommend anything high end JNAT unless you are VERY good at keeping angle and have used harder stones with success....
 
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