- Joined
- Jun 23, 2016
- Messages
- 439
- Reaction score
- 200
Hey everyone! I'm back with another stone session! Sorry I kinda fell off the radar for a bit - I moved, new job, lots of expenses with outfitting the new apartment, even new outfits for change in the weather (Cali to Maine) and all the other things that go along with everything being new; things sat in some boxes for awhile - just life and stuff you know? Anyways, I'm finally getting settled in Portland, Maine, and since the weather is beautiful, I thought I'd finally dust off my stones and get back to it. For those that remember me, I was slinging out what I call, 'Stone Sessions' which is really just a detailed review of some of my stones, both for my education, as well as getting others interested in possibly getting or learning about similar stones. When I was posting the previous sessions in the past, I was voluntarily unemployed, so I had some time on my hands, and I was able to pump a bunch out. Now that I've got a job and keeping my head down on purchasing for a bit, my posts won't be as frequent, but you'll see me start commenting on things again - really happy to get back into it with ya'll!
Let's do this.
UENO
I picked this one up from Asteger several months ago and shamefully haven't put it through the paces because of all that I mentioned above (this was one of the last stones I purchased before moving). It's not widely known (I haven't seen one outside from Asteger's). It comes from Gunma, and is beautiful.
Weights and Measures: 200x70x50mm; 1772g
Appearance: Gorgeous goma everywhere, with the back being riddled with the greatest density of kuro renge I've ever seen, all over a light beige base.
Texture and Smell: Smooth, not glassy, but definitely close. Smells the standard wet cardboard and hay.
Sharpening Experience:
- Stainless Steel (K Sab, 'new old butcher'): Action was pleasant. The smoothness of the stones translates well. Not overly slippery when you first start out, and with some swarf building up, the action gets softer. The edge is at a medium finish with some toothiness, but nothing overly pronounced. I'd probably kick this up another stone.
- Shiro (Yoshikazu Ikeda shiro 2 nakiri): Doing these sessions again brings back my burning love for everything Ikeda. I probably need to invest in a 'lesser' shiro knife so I can preserve this knife, but also it's hard to get bad results with this steel, it's just soooo perfect. Anyways, everything about this interaction was outstanding. Actually super fast, the firmness of the stone gave me insight on the edge immediately, so not a stroke was wasted. The edge is screaming sharp, and makes me question my previous K sab results.
- Aogami (Tanaka ao 2 nakiri): Definitely took a bit longer. The steel didn't seem to like the stone too much. The feedback was a bit more grainy, as well. Still, the edge was kickin and I don't have any complaints about the result, just wasn't as pleasant as dealing with the shiro.
- Kataba (Shimanti ao 2 deba): A polisher if anything. I didn't feel the need to spend the next 30 minutes polishing away. This is a bit too hard for my patience at the moment. Did give a killer edge quickly, however.
Pros: A beautiful stone; super rare; generally good results; shines on shiro steel.
Cons: Impossible to find, results are solid not mind blowing.
Snag this Stone? If you can find one, sure. I wouldn't go searching for hours trying to find one, but if you're a collector, than it's pretty special. Beautiful, solid results, unique. But there are 'better' stones out there that can do more with each steel, so try not to lose any sleep on not finding one.
As always, apologies for the sideways pics; I'll never know why they upload this way.
Stay tuned for some more Stone Sessions I've got planned. I had a deep dive into razor stones, so I'll be pushing the boundaries and seeing what they can do with some of my knives. Thanks for reading, and it's great to be back!
Let's do this.
UENO
I picked this one up from Asteger several months ago and shamefully haven't put it through the paces because of all that I mentioned above (this was one of the last stones I purchased before moving). It's not widely known (I haven't seen one outside from Asteger's). It comes from Gunma, and is beautiful.
Weights and Measures: 200x70x50mm; 1772g
Appearance: Gorgeous goma everywhere, with the back being riddled with the greatest density of kuro renge I've ever seen, all over a light beige base.
Texture and Smell: Smooth, not glassy, but definitely close. Smells the standard wet cardboard and hay.
Sharpening Experience:
- Stainless Steel (K Sab, 'new old butcher'): Action was pleasant. The smoothness of the stones translates well. Not overly slippery when you first start out, and with some swarf building up, the action gets softer. The edge is at a medium finish with some toothiness, but nothing overly pronounced. I'd probably kick this up another stone.
- Shiro (Yoshikazu Ikeda shiro 2 nakiri): Doing these sessions again brings back my burning love for everything Ikeda. I probably need to invest in a 'lesser' shiro knife so I can preserve this knife, but also it's hard to get bad results with this steel, it's just soooo perfect. Anyways, everything about this interaction was outstanding. Actually super fast, the firmness of the stone gave me insight on the edge immediately, so not a stroke was wasted. The edge is screaming sharp, and makes me question my previous K sab results.
- Aogami (Tanaka ao 2 nakiri): Definitely took a bit longer. The steel didn't seem to like the stone too much. The feedback was a bit more grainy, as well. Still, the edge was kickin and I don't have any complaints about the result, just wasn't as pleasant as dealing with the shiro.
- Kataba (Shimanti ao 2 deba): A polisher if anything. I didn't feel the need to spend the next 30 minutes polishing away. This is a bit too hard for my patience at the moment. Did give a killer edge quickly, however.
Pros: A beautiful stone; super rare; generally good results; shines on shiro steel.
Cons: Impossible to find, results are solid not mind blowing.
Snag this Stone? If you can find one, sure. I wouldn't go searching for hours trying to find one, but if you're a collector, than it's pretty special. Beautiful, solid results, unique. But there are 'better' stones out there that can do more with each steel, so try not to lose any sleep on not finding one.
As always, apologies for the sideways pics; I'll never know why they upload this way.
Stay tuned for some more Stone Sessions I've got planned. I had a deep dive into razor stones, so I'll be pushing the boundaries and seeing what they can do with some of my knives. Thanks for reading, and it's great to be back!
