Stone suggestions

[Chefgibson]

I currently have a jns 300, shapton glass 500, 2k, 16k and a nice aizu. Been using an omura as nagura and for flattening the Aizu. And a naninwa 220 flattening stone on the rest.

What's next? I love the naturals but am not ready to invest in a finisher yet. Looking to possibly try some fingerstones first before taking that jump. It's a big rabbit hole

I've been considering the big gaps and being a fan of the jns 300 I was considering the 1000/8000 combo stone and have heard good things on the kitayama as far as synthetics go.

And then brings the question of the diamond plate for flattening and slurry. Is what I'm using now sufficient and a diamond plate would just make it feel like less of a chore?

 

[Brandon Wicks]

I had a Kitiyama years ago and really liked it. For the life of me I can't remember why I sold it. Probably in a fit of purging I remember the edges being silky and leaving a nice hazy mirror finish.

 

[Chefgibson]

I had a Kitiyama years ago and really liked it. For the life of me I can't remember why I sold it. Probably in a fit of purging I remember the edges being silky and leaving a nice hazy mirror finish.

How is it for contrast with hagane when polishing bevels or did you only use on edge?

 

[Brandon Wicks]

The contrast was subtle. My aoto is way more pronounced.

 

[Chefgibson]

The contrast was subtle. My aoto is way more pronounced.

Thanks for the info

 

[nutmeg]

Contrast is color AND surface.

For color you get contrast on synthetic up to 2-3000 (best from 800 to 2000 depending the stones). Above that this will be all shiny.
The Kitayama for exemple is a clean and fast stone but you won't never get much contrast with this one.

A part of the "magic" with natural stones is the contrast in surface. Jnat reflect/trap the light much differently.
You may get a shiny core and a hazy clad with the same stone.
Also you see less scratches, it's like digital pixel vs film grain in the photography world.

Considering your actual setup a Kitayama would have its place. (Anyway it is a very useful stone!)

I would strongly advise a coarse diamond stone in order to keep your precious stone FLAT/healthy. This way you get always much cleaner blades.
Also they help you repair safely blades or correct wrong grinds.

 

[Chefgibson]

Contrast is color AND surface.

For color you get contrast on synthetic up to 2-3000 (best from 800 to 2000 depending the stones). Above that this will be all shiny.
The Kitayama for exemple is a clean and fast stone but you won't never get much contrast with this one.

A part of the "magic" with natural stones is the contrast in surface. Jnat reflect/trap the light much differently.
You may get a shiny core and a hazy clad with the same stone.
Also you see less scratches, it's like digital pixel vs film grain in the photography world.

Considering your actual setup a Kitayama would have its place. (Anyway it is a very useful stone!)

I would strongly advise a coarse diamond stone in order to keep your precious stone FLAT/healthy. This way you get always much cleaner blades.
Also they help you repair safely blades or correct wrong grinds.

Thanks very much for the info! That is what I presumed. With a couple stone exceptions in the 5k range. Ive been leaning that way. Any diamond stones you suggest?

 

[nutmeg]

I've been using Watanabe Ai Diamond and Ai Diamond Jr wich are very pricey.
The only affordable I've been using has been an Atoma 600 wich is ok for my needs.
If I had to pick only one that would be on the #200 grit range. There are many brands in this price range but I don't know them well enough to tell you.

 

[Chefgibson]

I was thinking atoma 140 or a nanahone - but they are a bit steep haha will have to do some research

 

[nutmeg]

I wouldn't take the nanahone because you can't repair or sharpen knives with this one.

 

[Olsen]

I use an Atoma 140 for flattening my stones. I assume an Atoma 600 would be too slow but I have never tried. I have heard there is a risk of "rubbing" of diamonds from the plate if it is used for sharpening knifes, but I am not sure if it true or not. A 300-800 grit synthetic stone would also remove chips fast in my experience so I see no reason to use a diamond plate for that.
The Atoma 140 is kind of expensive but will last for a very long time. A boring necessity to buy

Regarding "investing in a natural finisher", they do not necessarily have to be that more expensive than a fine synthetic stone. Many of the very expensive Jnats are only expensive because they are (very) big, beautiful, flawless, and come from the right neighbourhood (Nakayama for example) Not necessarily because they are better than a 200-300$ full size stone or a 100 $ koppa. Maksim often have (Aiwatani) koppas for sale for around 100-200$ and they can be just as fine as finishers as the more expensive stones. I have three of them and I love them all And don't be afraid of buying a "thin" koppa for that matter. JNats dish very slowly.

Two of the three aiiwatani koppas I have. Even the first, thin one will last a lifetime .)


http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/aiiwatani-kiita-koppa-lv-3-5-a742/
http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/aiiwatani-koppa-lv-3-a957/

 

[Chefgibson]

I use an Atoma 140 for flattening my stones. I assume an Atoma 600 would be too slow but I have never tried. I have heard there is a risk of "rubbing" of diamonds from the plate if it is used for sharpening knifes, but I am not sure if it true or not. A 300-800 grit synthetic stone would also remove chips fast in my experience so I see no reason to use a diamond plate for that.
The Atoma 140 is kind of expensive but will last for a very long time. A boring necessity to buy

Regarding "investing in a natural finisher", they do not necessarily have to be that more expensive than a fine synthetic stone. Many of the very expensive Jnats are only expensive because they are (very) big, beautiful, flawless, and come from the right neighbourhood (Nakayama for example) Not necessarily because they are better than a 200-300$ full size stone or a 100 $ koppa. Maksim often have (Aiwatani) koppas for sale for around 100-200$ and they can be just as fine as finishers as the more expensive stones. I have three of them and I love them all And don't be afraid of buying a "thin" koppa for that matter. JNats dish very slowly.

Two of the three aiiwatani koppas I have. Even the first, thin one will last a lifetime .)


http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/aiiwatani-kiita-koppa-lv-3-5-a742/
http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/aiiwatani-koppa-lv-3-a957/

Thanks for this info. This is more than likely the route I will take. I'm going to try the aroma 140 and a few fingerstones and go from there. Much appreciated

 

[jacko9]

I like the Atoma 140 very much and if you want to add to your mid range you might consider the Shapton Pro 5K stone or the Aono Aoto natural. I also love my Kitayama 8K stone.

 

[Chefgibson]

I like the Atoma 140 very much and if you want to add to your mid range you might consider the Shapton Pro 5K stone or the Aono Aoto natural. I also love my Kitayama 8K stone.

Thanks! I just order the atoma 140 with handle and a mazaki 240
The aizu seems to be in the 3-5k range and I enjoy it immensely. I also have a variety of fingerstones on route to try from a forum member. Looking forward to trying them all all!

 

[Olsen]

I have two aizu Jnats and they both feel slightly different coarser than my JNS6000 synthetic.

 

[valgard]

Thanks! I just order the atoma 140 with handle and a mazaki 240
The aizu seems to be in the 3-5k range and I enjoy it immensely. I also have a variety of fingerstones on route to try from a forum member. Looking forward to trying them all all!

Just noticed this thread, the Atoma 140 was a great call. The nanohone would only make sense for someone sharpening heaps. Can also use the Atoma 140 for grinding although the feedback sucks.

 

[Nemo]

The Atoma with a handle makes flattening very easy (but does preclude its use as a thinning stone).

 

[Chefgibson]

The Atoma with a handle makes flattening very easy (but does preclude its use as a thinning stone).

I considered this, figured it could be removed probably if not I have not had any problems with chip repairs or thinning on the jns 300

 

[inferno]

you just want to buy more stones?? it looks like you dont actually need more stones.

maybe get a shapton glass 3 or 4k? this is about as high you can take most common SS and SS powder imo before its starts getting counterproductive.

regarding diamonds: the dmt coarse is usable for knives and stones (not as good on the stones as the atomas).
atomas are faster on stones but leaves streaks in them. The 400 could be used for knives but you will need to put in quite a long amount of time on your glass500 to clean all those massive scratches up. its ultra destructive.

if you want a high grit stone that you will only be using on carbon pretty much you can try the glass 8k, glass 8k HC, shapton pro 8k. Maybe the glass 6k could be nice too?

out of all 8k stones i have tried the shapton pro 8k is the best. its fast, its splash and go, it dries fast. it doesn't load up quickly, and completely overkill on all stainless.

the shapton glass HC stones are slower than regular glass but polishes 1 or 2 steps above their grit rating. an 8k will polish like a 12k kinda.

 

[Chefgibson]

you just want to buy more stones?? it looks like you dont actually need more stones.

maybe get a shapton glass 3 or 4k? this is about as high you can take most common SS and SS powder imo before its starts getting counterproductive.

regarding diamonds: the dmt coarse is usable for knives and stones (not as good on the stones as the atomas).
atomas are faster on stones but leaves streaks in them. The 400 could be used for knives but you will need to put in quite a long amount of time on your glass500 to clean all those massive scratches up. its ultra destructive.

if you want a high grit stone that you will only be using on carbon pretty much you can try the glass 8k, glass 8k HC, shapton pro 8k. Maybe the glass 6k could be nice too?

out of all 8k stones i have tried the shapton pro 8k is the best. its fast, its splash and go, it dries fast. it doesn't load up quickly, and completely overkill on all stainless.

the shapton glass HC stones are slower than regular glass but polishes 1 or 2 steps above their grit rating. an 8k will polish like a 12k kinda.

Thanks inferno! Yes I am happy with my current lineup. I got the atoma, some fingerstones and a new mazaki 240 to try as a little birthday present to myself I plan to add a natural finishing stone to the lineup down the line. Going to practice more with what I got and explore the world of fingerstones thanks to all for the information immensely and all the help from forum members!